


The Best in Me.

by Ladyelle



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Connor, Airplane Sex, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Angry Sex, Angst and Feels, Arguments, Assassin in Training, Assassins vs. Templars, Biting, Blow Jobs in a Car, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Car Accidents, Dom/sub Play, Dom/sub Undertones, Dominance, Drabble, F/M, Fist Fights, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Forced Orgasm, Gun Violence, Insecurity, Jealousy, Masturbation, Mile High Club, New Assassin, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Outdoor Sex, Restraints, Rivalry, Rough Kissing, Rough Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sex, Sex In A Cave, Shyness, Slow Burn, Smut, Spy - Freeform, Teacher-Student Relationship, Tumblr Prompt, Undercover, Undercover Missions, Vaginal Fingering, Water Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 10:42:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 58,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15338142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyelle/pseuds/Ladyelle
Summary: Another request from Tumblr, showing that our dear sweet Connor has a more, 'naughtier' side to him >:-)*Edit: Now converted into a full fic prequel for 'Deception.'





	1. Chapter 1

Grabbing your bag when the minibus came to a halt, you took a deep breath when another person barged by you, trying not to have a permascowl on your first day here. Jumping down when you were the last person on board; even though you had sat right next to the door, you shield your eyes with your hand when the sun glared down from above, waiting where you were for a second, so your eyes had a chance to adjust.

As a new Assassin initiate, you had been sent to one of their training camps in the middle of nowhere, where various masters and mentors would instruct and help hone your abilities before sending you out into the field. Unfortunately for you, you had moved only a week ago to be closer to their headquarters after being recruited, and you didn't know _anybody_ here. Some were newbies like yourself, some were seasoned assassins who were here to brush up on their skills, but they all seemed to know each other in some way shape or form.

Wandering about aimlessly when they all started pairing off or stand together in groups; in hopes that you would spot a friendly face, your attention was dragged away by a person who you could only see the back of. Hood pulled up, and dressed in peculiar assassins attire. It had more of a _native_ , flair that you had ever seen, off-white long coat accentuated by soft leather and woven straps, and muddied suede boots from what you could see, making your mouth immediately water in awe. More than slightly distracted, you didn't notice the woman crouched down in front of you, until you stumbled over her and almost faceplanted the floor.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Umm, sorry." You uttered, scrambling up and brushing yourself off quickly before extending your hand to help her up.

Frowning when she slapped your arm away, you couldn't help but stare when she got up on her own and picked her bag up off the ground, slinging it over her shoulder quickly. She had short dark brown hair tied back with a red bandana, a tan than even Simon Cowell would have been envious of, and of what you could see, she was _covered_ in tattoos.

"What ya looking at new fish? Have I got somethin' on my face?"

Dropping your gaze to the dirt and scuffing your shoe in it, you sighed as you couldn't _believe_ that you had managed to annoy someone already.

"What? No. You... you just don't look like an assassin." You blurted out before you could stop yourself, clapping your hand over your mouth before anything else came tumbling out.

"Is that right? Well, what do I look like then?"

You mumbled behind your hand for a second before realising it was still over your face, daring to drop it when she just stared at you in scrutiny.

"Dunno, gang leader maybe?"

Grinning when she burst out laughing; almost dropping her bag as she held her side, you breathed a sigh of relief when she held out her hand, taking it and feeling your teeth instantly clatter as she shook it enthusiastically. 

"I'll take that as a compliment. Friends call me Mary. Mary Read. And you are?...."

"(Name), nice to meet you."

Raising your eyebrows now that you managed to look at her chest tattoo more clearly, you snapped your head to the side when someone shouted over to her as she dropped your hand.

_"Hey Mary! Come help me with this would you?"_

"Aye mate! Come on, I'll introduce you."

Following her over to her group of friends gingerly, you immediately forgot everyone's name as she rolled them out in quick succession before helping her friend out with his bag, your attention being pulled away when an airhorn rang through the air.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention, please! I am Ezio Auditore, but you may call me mentor, or Master Auditore. You are all here for extensive training, I expect you all to follow the rules laid out in your handbooks and set by your instructors, and also, treat each other with respect. Now, if you would go to your barracks to get changed, we can begin. Gentlemen on the left, la signorinas on the right."

"Oooh, _Master_ Auditore. Git gets more pompous every year."

You burst out laughing when Mary strolled towards the barracks with an exaggerated sway in her step, which you assumed was further mockery towards the unmistakably Italian assassin.

 

It was starting to get dark by the time everyone had gotten themselves sorted, huddling outside while they waited for an instructor to turn up. You were surprised at the gear that had been given out; expecting it to be something more elaborate, but as it turned out, it was a simple t-shirt, cargo pants and boots, with the returning assassins having a red sash around their waists. Locating Mary amongst the crowd, you squeezed through figuring she would know what was going on next, feeling a little uneasy when you saw that she and everyone around her were wearing a red belt.

"Ah new fish, there ya are, was wondering where you'd got off to. Hold on a sec... Where the devil is your hidden blade?!"

You wrung your hand on the space of your wrist when she poked you on it, your face burning hot when your gaze flickered over everyone else, to see that you were the _only_ person in the camp that wasn't wearing one.

"I-I haven't got one. I only joined a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't have the chance... My name's (name) by the way, not 'Fish'..."

Trailing off when the group burst out laughing, you wished the ground would open up and swallow you whole to save you from this embarrassing situation, that was until Mary simply raised her hand, and everyone immediately clammed up.

"That so? Fish. An assassin should never be without their blade. I'll see if I can sort something out for ya later."

Resigning to the fact that was going to be your name while you were here; thinking it could be worse, a wide grin spread over your face as you wondered why she was being so kind to you, but you didn't dare question your good fortune, instead settling on feeling relieved that maybe this place wasn't going to be so tedious after all. Spinning around when dual whistles sounded out, your eyes finally landed on a man and a woman stood on top of one of the benches, waving their arms to get everyone's attention.

"Oi, you lot! Shut up! We are Jacob and Evie Frye, you can call me, _Sir._ He sneered, making your eyebrows furrow as he seemed cockier than the last instructor. "And for tonight, your asses belong to us. We'll be testing your stamina this evening, seeing which of you can keep up, and which of you, _can't_. All of the coaches will be watching you, do try not to be last. Now run!"

Everyone darted towards the forest when he shot a pistol into the air, with you rolling your eyes when you passed a group of girls, who were barely jogging as they were too busy gushing over Jacob. 

You managed to keep up in roughly the middle of the pack, not wanting to fall behind but letting you follow the people who had done this before, as there were no actual markings or visible trail through the brush. 

Looking at your watch when you heard someone call out that you were at the halfway mark, you scowled when you saw that you'd been at this for nearly three hours, and the stitch in your side was becoming unbearable.

Stopping for a moment and resting your hands on your knees to try and catch your breath, you shrieked when someone who was showboating past you barged into your side, making you stumble to the left. Your breath caught in your throat when you suddenly lost your footing, falling with a heavy thud and rolling down the slope, even deeper into the woodland.

Groaning loudly when you finally stopped tumbling, you dragged yourself up onto your hands and knees and, grimaced as your fingers sank into the swampy leaves beneath you. _Great. Just great. What a brilliant first day._ Taking a moment to look about as you started brushing yourself off, your eyes widened when you saw that trees completely surrounded you, wondering how on earth you had managed to miss them all when you fell.

Not fancying getting too far behind, you scrambled up quickly and used the roots that were protruding out of the ground to help you up the slope again, the slipperiness of the foliage making it no easy feat. Eventually making it back up to the top, you spun around on the spot when you couldn't see anyone about, straining your senses in hopes that you could pick up _something_ that would point you in the right direction. 

But there was nothing.

You tried to keep calm when the only sounds that hit your ears were the scramblings of the wildlife and other nocturnal animals, but you couldn't stop your hands from shaking when you suddenly got the feeling you were being watched.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" You called out, intending to shout but your voice only came out as a mere whisper.

Looking down at the ground when only silence returned, you cocked your head to the side when you saw that there was a light trail of squashed vegetation, slowly following it as you assumed it was from where the rest of the group had been running. Hissing through your teeth when the branch that you had just pushed away snapped back and slapped you right in the face, you drew your hand up and rubbed your cheek with the back of it, wincing when there was now a smear of blood running across it.

You were more annoyed than scared now, as you had lost the flattened trail again and dark clouds had partly covered the moon, so visibility was now next to nothing. You continued forwards in a shuffling motion when you heard the sound of running water; so the risk of anything tripping you up would be kept to a minimum until you parted the next bush and came to some kind of clearing.

Squinting your eyes when the rushing noise was now considerably louder, your jaw dropped when the clouds eventually blew away, and you could see that you were at the edge of a small lake with a beautiful glistening waterfall just to your right. Crouching down and scooping up some of the bubbling cold water in your hands, you splashed your face and gave it a quick rub, hissing through your teeth when your cheek stung slightly.

Your heart jumped into your throat and you lept up when you were sure you could feel eyes on you again and, a twig snapped a few feet behind you, cursing at yourself under your breath for being so jittery when you spied an oddly ringed tail disappear into the shrubs.

_Get a hold of yourself! It's just a racoon! Try acting like you belong here!_

But that was just it. You didn't feel like you belonged here. You couldn't even navigate your way out of a forest for god's sake, so how you were going to be an asset to the assassins was beyond you. Taking a deep breath and becoming more determined to prove your worth, you made a rough mental note of where you were so you could come back during the daylight and, returned the way you came, inspecting every little thing to try and find the trail again. 

 

Eventually managing to track your way back to the camp, you wearily slumped down on one of the benches when you saw that everyone had gone to bed for the night, resting your head in your arms until you heard a couple of people laughing amongst themselves and heading in your direction.

"Bloody hell fish, there ya are! What happened to you??" Mary asked, somewhat concerned as she grabbed your chin and turned your head so she could see the cut on your face better.

"Some asshole knocked me down a ravine, and I got lost. Only just made it back."

"Asshole? Well, I've been called worse. Should've watched where you were going."

Snapping your head up when a sandy-haired man came out of the shadows, you glared at him with all the resentment you could muster as he propped his foot on the bench seat opposite you, resting his arm on his knee as he chuckled at you wryly.

"Aye, you have been called worse, mostly by me. This is Edward Kenway, one of the teachers here. And also my fella."

"Think I'll stick with asshole." You grumbled under your breath before trying to force a smile, as getting into a blow-up with one of your instructors just after getting here probably wasn't the best idea in the world.

"Yeah, guess I should have. So, you're an instructor? What do you teach?"

"Ah, that would be spoiling the surprise now, wouldn't it! But I'm good at lots of things, and you'll find out soon enough."

You sniggered slightly when Mary rolled her eyes as he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, dragging yourself up when she tilted her head in gesturing you to follow her.

"Only thing you're good at is getting pissed. Come on, we'd better hit the hay. No doubt they'll be getting us up at the crack of dawn."

Stopping for a moment when she kissed Edwards cheek and ruffled his hair affectionately, you concentrated on trying to brush the remnants of dead leaves off of your legs as you didn't want to be caught staring while you waited for them to say goodnight.

"Look at ya, right state!" Mary jeered when she finally caught you up and could see you better in the light posted outside the barracks.

"Kinda happens when you've been wandering around the forest for god knows how long."

She chuckled and pressed her finger over her lips when you entered the dorms and, made your way to your adjacent beds, dropping down on them silently as to not wake anyone up. You laid on your back and laced your hands behind your head, not even bothering to get undressed as every inch of you began to ache, and moving seemed like so much effort right now.

"Ya know, I'm surprised that someone didn't come to help ya." She whispered just as you closed your eyes.

"Hmph. Trust me, I was definitely alone out there."

A few moments of silence passed, but then she mumbled something almost inaudibly; but you caught it, and you immediately snapped your eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.

"That's what you think."

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It felt like you had barely closed your eyes when you suddenly went cold, drawing your knees up and groaning as someone pulled your duvet off you and dropped it to the floor.

"C'mon sleeping beauty, time to get up!"

You held onto the edge of the thin mattress for dear life when Mary grabbed the side of it and lifted it up, but it did no good as you rolled off it and landed straight on the floor, scowling up at her when she belted out in laughter.

"You treat all your friends like this?" You grumbled, reaching out for your bag so you could get some clean clothes on.

"Nah, you're just special. Here, I got somethin' for ya."

All lethargy was suddenly gone when you pulled yourself up to sitting on the edge of your bed, your eyes as wide as saucers as you caught the bag she tossed over to you, tipping its contents out onto your pillow.

"Oh my god, thank you so much!"

At last, your very own hidden blade. It was extremely worn and tattered, but you didn't care. Now you actually didn't feel like an outcast anymore as you tugged it on, doing up the straps quickly and flicking your wrist to reveal the blade.

"Sorry it's not great, but it was the best I could do for now. Now get yerself changed, or we're gonna be late."

Grinning enthusiastically and flicking your wrist again, you got yourself sorted in record speed, almost skipping outside as you joined the rest of the group for your next session. You grimaced when you walked over to a large clearing where everyone had huddled around, peering through the crowd to spy several stands with bows and arrows, plus numerous targets set up in front of the treeline.

"Archery!? How's that going to help us be better assassins? Who even uses those anymore?"

"You'd be surprised fish." Mary chuckled as she took in your dejected expression. "Take it yer not a fan?"

"Never done it. I'm going to look like a right idiot in front of everyone..."

You were cut short by the sound of screeching coming from above, instinctively ducking down as a blur of brown flew overhead and it dropping down somewhere beyond the front of the crowd. Pushing your way through when Mary grabbed your arm and dragged you to the front, your eyes widened when you saw that the mysterious blur was, in fact, a beautiful eagle, who was now sat on the arm of what you guessed was a middle eastern looking man.

"I am Bayek, and this is Senu." He boomed out before patting the bird on the head affectionately and guiding her to perch on a nearby post. "Today I will be teaching you in long-range weapons. You can think they are of no use to us, but in the right hands they are deadly and, more silent than a gun, letting you stay hidden for longer. All of you take a bow, and line up evenly in front of the targets."

Sticking with Mary and hoping you could get through this without causing some kind of injury, you started to become slightly more nervous when the people at the front of the line took their first of three shots, all of them hitting at least somewhere on their targets.

"You'll be okay, don't worry so much! Just have fun, and if your gonna miss, aim for that bloke there. He's a total douche."

Giggling when she pointed to a man with a shit-eating grin in the queue to the right of you, who was now brushing the tips of his fingers on his chest after all three of his hits were _almost_ perfect, you stumbled forward when the line shuffled forward impatiently, eager to have a go themselves. Bayek immediately spotted that you had zero idea of what you were doing, as he stopped talking to one of the more experienced assassins and came almost running over to you, standing behind you and guiding you into the proper stance.

"You mustn't be so rigid young one. Relax, smooth movements, and unless you want to venture to the Field of Reeds, you must breathe." He chuckled when he noticed you were holding your breath, tilting your elbow up, so it was almost flush against your ear.

Letting go of the bowstring when he was satisfied you were in the correct position and nodded, you squealed loudly when the arrow hit dead centre of the target. You winked smugly when the 'douche' as Mary called him scowled at you and stomped off to the back of his queue, grinning when both Bayek and Mary patted you on the back proudly. Feeling exhilarated that you had managed to achieve _something_ while you were here, you picked up the next arrow and did the same thing again, piercing the bullseye mere millimetres from your first shot.

"Ay not bad at all, said ya didn't need to worry! Seems like you've managed to catch the eye of our Ratonhnhaké:ton too."

Glancing around as you grabbed another arrow and got ready to take your last shot, you were confused as to who she was actually on about until she grabbed your shoulders and spun you slightly to the left.

"What you on about? Radoo...who?...oooooh!" 

Your jaw dropped when you finally spotted who she was talking about, unintentionally shooting your arrow into the floor an inch away from someone's foot; making the girl shriek and shout at you, but you completely ignored her as you stared at the man who had turned away and began petting Senu as soon as you caught him looking at you.

Tall, dark and handsome didn't even begin to cover him as your eyes roamed freely at the sight before you, drinking in every little detail you could before Bayek blocked most of your line of sight as he went over to talk to him. _Most_ of your line of sight was exaggerating a bit as you guessed he was over six feet tall, dark honeyed skin that was literally screaming at you to touch it, and his stunning native American features were accentuated by his long dark hair falling over his broad, muscular shoulders which his shirt barely constrained. You would have been drooling if not for Mary snapping your chin back up with her finger and making your teeth clatter, dragging you out of your trance as she blatantly laughed at you.

"Oh, like em big and silent do we?"

"Silent? You mean he can't talk?" You mumbled, lowering your head as you moved to the back of the line so no one could see much of your scorching face.

"No, nothin' like that! He just don't talk much, really shy and keeps to himself mostly. Want me to introduce you? He's an instructor here you know. Although fraternising between newbies and mentors is forbidden..."

You shook your head furiously as you tried to strain more subtle glances at him this time, the thumping of your heart almost drowning out anything she was saying to you.

"That's okay, you've already embarrassed me enough for one day thanks. What does he teach?"

To be honest, it didn't matter in the _slightest_ what her answer was going to be, as you already knew that whatever it was, it was about to be your new favourite subject.

"Huntin' and tracking. But he helps Bayek with the long range stuff if there's a lot of us, he's pretty damn fancy with a bow too."

 _I bet he is..._ you thought to yourself, moving down the line again quickly when you noticed there was a huge gap and you didn't fancy getting pushed a second time. 

"What was his name again? Radoo...Ratat..."

"Connor. Just call him Connor" She chuckled, handing you a bow now you had made it to the front of the queue.

In trying to get his attention and maybe impress him now he was wandering about and giving tips to some of the other newbies, you blocked out Marys heckling and took up your stance the same as before, your cheeks beginning to ache from your broad smile when you hit the mark dead centre again. But it quickly fell, and your heart sank when Connor completely sidetracked you and went straight to the next line over, ignoring you as if you weren't even there. Figuring that he was only going over to the people who needed help, you purposefully missed the next time, your arrow falling about a foot short of the target. You pouted when you barely even got a sideways glance at your failure, wishing that you _had_ accepted Mary's offer of an introduction now, regardless of the rules.

"Lost your mojo fish? Someone distracting ya?"

You stuck your tongue out when she wiggled her eyebrows at you, chucking her the bow now you couldn't be bothered to take your last go as your concentration had flown straight out of the window.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thankfully Marys ridiculing tapered off over the next few days, instead concentrating on pushing you and helping you keep up with the rest of her friends. Over half of the new initiates had dropped out due to either injuries or pure exhaustion; something that was expected apparently, but between your pride and her encouragement, you were still soldiering on.

Every single one of your muscles; even ones you didn't know you had, were screaming and aching after the Frye twins latest 'endurance building' obstacle course, and you were now slumped over a bench, wondering if there was a bath or something similar about to soothe out your aches. The communal showers were pretty decent, but you knew they weren't going to cut it if you were going to be able to carry on.

Jumping up and snapping your fingers with a grin, you suddenly winced and grabbed your shoulder when it spasmed up, trying to massage the tense muscle into letting loose before Mary spotted you and started going on about, 'it's all in your head'. Creeping into the barracks while everyone else was having dinner, you wrote a quick note saying that you had gone for a walk and would be back soon and left it on your bed; so no one would think you had crawled into a hole and died or something, then grabbed your rucksack and stuffed a towel in it, leaving out of the back door and sneaking into the forest before anyone saw you.

With it still being light out it didn't take you long to find your way back to the lake, (that and following a deer which was in search of water) dropping your bag a few feet from the edge. You closed your eyes and let out a soft sigh when you couldn't hear anything apart from the sounds of rushing water and the wind rustling the leaves, revelling at the peace and quiet. No one yelling at you to go faster, no taunting, nothing. Thinking you had better get going with what you came here to do before it got too late, you kicked off your shoes and stuffed your socks in them before shimmying out of your combats, folding them up neatly and placing them on top.

Standing at the edge of the lake, you gingerly dipped your foot in the water to test it, raising your eyebrows in surprise when it felt a lot warmer than you thought it was going to be. Quickly grabbing the hem of your t-shirt and tugging it over your head, you threw it to the ground and jumped straight in, grinning when you rose to the surface, just managing to keep your head out of the water by standing on your tiptoes. You hummed lightly to yourself as you instantly felt more refreshed, bobbing closer to the waterfall so the rumbling water could work its magic.

This was definitely what you needed, all of your aches melting away as you leaned forward and let the waterfall pound at your back, until you spotted something sparkling out of the corner of your eye behind the cascades. Your curiosity got the better of you, so manoeuvring to the edge and pulling yourself up the side, you carefully navigated over the slippery rocks until you were behind the fall, slightly gobsmacked at what you found. The glint that you saw was the back wall of the small cave that you were standing in, flecks of a pearlescent mineral embedded in it making it look like it was shimmering, but that wasn't what drew your attention the most.

It was the dormant campfire with a couple of bedrolls and blankets stacked neatly beside it, two long logs which you assumed served as seats, and several other essential camping knick-knacks strewn about. A faint rustle of leaves to your right stopped you mid stare and made you look about furiously, sighing when you realised it was just the wind that had picked up, along with a familiar tail and beady eyes poking out of a bush. 

"Don't look at me like that, I know you're judging me..." You grumbled at the racoon, narrowing your eyes when it made a shrill shriek that sounded a lot like it was laughing at you.

Not wanting whoever was staying here to come back and catch you in your underwear, you went back the way you came and got dressed in record time; not even bothering to get dried off, and sprinted back to the camp in hopes that you could still catch the end of dinner.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Oh, fiiiiiIIIsh!"

Looking up from your linguistics book from Master Dorian's class; grateful for the distraction as everything might as well have been written in alien code, you gave Mary a beaming grin when she pretty much skipped down the room and dropped herself very ungracefully on the end of your bed.

"Hey, whats up? How do you learn this junk? It all looks like chicken scratch to me!"

"I don't." She said simply. "Come on, time for Edward."

Snapping the book shut and chucking it on your pillow, you followed her outside and towards the mentors sleeping quarters, confounded when you spied a single training dummy set right in front of it, and a table lain with numerous paintball guns.

"Alright piss pots! My session's more fun than most. Your job is to take out the target without being spotted. If you get caught... Splat!"

You bit your lips together, so you didn't laugh at Edwards enthusiasm and mimicking of a machine gun when he picked up one of the weapons, before tossing it to one of the people in front of him. As the amount of you that were here had continued to dwindle, there were more than enough guns to go around, all of you retreating a good fifty feet as the first person slunk into the brush behind the cabin.

"How is anyone supposed to get that without being seen!?" You whispered to Mary as you continued to scour around for any sign of the assassin.

"No ones ever managed it. It's just an excuse to pelt each other with paintballs."

Chuckling as she grinned deviously, you raised your gun at the same time as everyone else when the recruit went to leap from the roof of the cabin; blade drawn, covering him in multicoloured paint before he even got close to the dummy. Your excitement soon waned after the next couple of 'volunteers' failed however, as you noticed that they were all using their hidden blades. You slyly looked down at yours and tried not to grimace when you could feel the blade shifting about in its casing, as after a few uses it's age finally caught up with it, and it was barely hanging on by a thread. You weren't even sure if you could draw it out anymore, let alone use it to assassinate a dummy. 

Groaning as Mary nudged you in the arm when you hadn't heard your name being called, you placed your gun down on the table and stomped into the dense vegetation, crouching down behind a bush as you contemplated what to do. Thinking you had better actually test your gauntlet to see if it was up to the task, you flicked your wrist and slapped your head in unison, as expected the blade did flick out, but with a high pitched ping it snapped out of the casing, dropping straight onto the floor in front of you.

Picking it up and fiddling with it as you peeked through the foliage; to see everyone starting to become impatient as you were taking so long, the corner of your mouth twitched when you suddenly thought of something that you could do. Inching to the side, so the dummy was in your line of sight, you held the tip of the blade in your fingertips and raised your arm to just behind your head, flinging it with all of your might straight into the dummies back, completely undetected. Grinning smugly to yourself and creeping along the treeline; not fancying getting pelted, you re-emerged behind the group, coughing loudly to get their attention.

"Give up, did you? That doesn't mean you're not getting hit!" Edward jeered when he saw you back amongst the crowd.

Everyone looked slightly bewildered as you held up your hands defensively with a smirk, sauntering over towards the dummy and pressing your fingertip on the back of its head. Gasps and whispers erupted when you pushed firmly and toppled it over, revealing your blade embedded deeply in the back of it before tugging it out triumphantly.

"That's cheating!" The _'douche'_ yelled out as you rejoined Mary's side, Edward following closely behind.

"How's that then? All I said was take out the dummy, didn't say how!"

Smiling softly and lurching forward as Edward gave you a hefty pat on the back, you raised your eyebrows when he gave Mary a, _look_ , obviously silently communicating about something before dismissing the rest of the group, as it was pointless in continuing with this set up now.

"I'm impressed (name). Didn't think you'd got it in ya."

"Did you just call me, (name)?!"

Beaming wildly as she rolled her eyes and took your blade off of you; scrutinising it for a moment, you put your hands on your hips while she stood there pondering, before handing the broken piece back.

"Yeah yeah. You deserved it this time. Don't get used to it, **fish**. Go take that over to the workshop, think someone can fix it for ya."

You scoffed when she winked at you and nudged you in the arm towards the right direction, making sure you were out of earshot before going back over to Edward and engaging him in what seemed to be an in-depth discussion about you. Thinking it was probably about how technically, you _didn't_ complete the task correctly, you decided not to linger on it as it would only stress you out, knocking on the door loudly when you eventually got to the workshop.

Looking at the schedule that was on the wall when there was no answer, you ran your finger down the list until you got to today's date, seeing it was a Mr Aleck Bell who was supposed to be on duty. Testing the handle to see if it was locked, you gingerly pushed the door open when it wasn't, shuffling your way inside as you called out.

"Mister Bell? Is anyone here? I need help fixing my hidden blade."

When no one answered again, you continued down the room, past the workbenches laden with tools and gadgets until you came to a partition that cordened off the very end, stopping when you heard a scraping sound coming from beyond it. Peeking around the shelving as not to disturb whoever was there, your heart jumped into your throat when you saw that it was Connor in here; sharpening a weird looking hatchet on a stone, freezing like a deer in headlights when he suddenly looked up at you.

"I-I'm sorry... I erm, was looking for, um, Mr Bell..." You eventually managed to blurt out, lowering your eyes to the floor when he dropped his weapon and scowled.

Watching him snatch it back up quickly and run his nail across the edge of the blade, you took a chance and moved a few steps closer to him, your brow furrowing and stopping about two feet away when he visibly tensed up and placed the blade on the workstation.

"That's a nice axe you have there."

"Tomahawk." He mumbled, his eyes now glued to the sharpening stone on the counter.

"Oh. Sorry, Tomahawk."

Your heartbeat was ringing in your ears, and you tried to push the naked imaginings of him out of your head when you took another pace forward and reached out to trace your fingers over the engravings on the handle, snapping your hand back when he flinched at you being so close to him.

"As you can see, Aleck is not here. Whatever you need you can put it on his desk with a note, I will make sure he gets it."

Taking a deep breath through your nose as you guessed that meant he wanted you to leave, you lingered for just a moment longer when something other than the smell of the workshop tickled your nose, stirring up the tingling deep inside you even further. Slightly musky, mixed with earth and pine needles, and a hint of, sandalwood? Turning away quickly as you knew your cheeks were getting warmer as you dared to take another sniff, you felt slightly down heartened as it was blatantly apparent that your attraction was one-sided.

"Umm, okay. Thanks."

Unbuckling your bracer quickly and dropping it on the front desk along with the blade, you fashioned a brief note from a post-it and charcoal pencil you had managed to find amongst the chaotic mess, sticking it on top before rushing out and slamming the door shut behind you.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

There were only three days left of your training, and as there was nothing to do this morning, everyone that was left were sitting outside on the benches, relaxing and chatting in the mid-morning sun. Looking up and laughing when you felt something placed on your head from behind you, you reached up and plucked it off as Mary sat down next to you, slightly perplexed as you were holding a roughly made paper crown.

"Whats this for?"

"Yer the only surviving newbie! Last one dropped out this morning. Is that a new blade?"

Flicking your wrist to show her your new gauntlet, you dropped the crown on the bench and cocked your head quizzically when she caught your arm and turned it over, the corner of her mouth twitching as she examined the intricate engravings on the leather hide.

"Yeah, apparently it was easier to make a new one than to fix the one you gave me. Whats so funny?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. It's good, hope you thanked whoever made it for ya." She snickered, letting go of you so you could retract the blade.

"Of course I did, would've been rude not to when Mr Bell gave it to me?!"

Now wholly baffled as she outright laughed at you and slapped her hand on the table before getting up, you dragged yourself up when she nudged her head for you to follow, your stomach grumbling as you got nearer the food tent.

"Ya know, I'm surprised you've managed to survive this long here, you are a bit daft, fish."

 

Shuffling nervously when you joined everyone else at the same spot where you had done your lesson with Edward, you tried to hide the fluster creeping up your cheeks by rubbing them furiously as if they were cold from the evening air when Connor emerged from the barracks. You had obviously failed miserably in your attempts though, as Mary nudged you in your side and gave you a knowing wink when she caught you staring at him. It wasn't helped by the fact he wasn't wearing his usual jeans and long sleeved top anymore, but his full-blown assassin's garb; the one you had spotted when you had first got here, Tomahawk and bow slung over his shoulder included, making your stomach flutter wildly. Everyone immediately shut up when he merely raised his arm, huddling together so as not to miss any of his instructions.

"Students. Welcome to your last session here. Tonight we will be venturing into the art of tracking. Ten animals have been fitted with collars with tags attached to them. You will need to collect them all to complete this exercise. This is a solo lesson, so any helping of each other is strictly prohibited."

"But sir, at night?! Aren't we supposed to hunt and kill them?" One of the others blurted out, whose name you had been told but had instantly forgotten.

"What if a bear tries to attack us?!" Another one called, making Connors' face twist in exasperation.

"Yes. At night. You must learn to use all of your senses, not just your eyes. All of the other masters are already in the forest, they will aid you, should you come across any trouble. And lastly, we do not kill just for the sake of it. We only take what we must. Now, are there any more questions?!"

No one dared ask anything else as he pulled his hood up abruptly and turned around, waving his arm in the air in signalling everyone to follow.

You lost sight of Connor about twenty feet into the forest, as he ran ahead and swiftly climbed a tree and disappeared into the canopy, the rest of the group splitting up and going their separate ways shortly after. Pulling your hood up as a few spots of rain hit your forehead, you continued straight ahead, a small smile creeping up your face as you knew where several animals would be this time of night.

It didn't take you long to find the horde of berry bushes that you had used as a marker point to navigate your way through the forest before, spotting a red fox with a ring of fluorescent green tags around its neck almost immediately, scratching at something on the ground. Now, the only problem was catching it. Hoping that it had been somewhat tamed; figuring that's how the collar had been put on it, you crouched down and slowly reached out with your hand when its ears pricked up at you being there, holding yourself as still as possible as it crept towards you, sniffing the air.

You didn't dare breathe when it nudged your fingertips with its nose, trying to determine if you were a threat or not, instead, you leaned forwards carefully until your hand was an inch away from its neck, grasping out furiously when a twig snapped under your foot and, it ran away startled. Your sudden movement made you lose your balance, so you fell on your front with a thud, but you didn't care, as you slowly opened your hand and grinned when you saw a small piece of plastic with the number seven etched on it.

Stuffing it in your pocket as you scrambled up, you were just about to brush yourself off when you spied a something slender and brown to your left, lunging out quickly before it could run off, earning you tag numbered three. 

_This is a piece of cake!_ You thought to yourself as you tucked it safely away with the other, hoping that none of the others have had as good as your fortune so far. Plucking a few berries off the bush to use as bait, you closed your eyes and listened carefully for the sounds of other wildlife about, creeping off as silently as you could deeper into the forest.

A porcupine, a muskrat, an otter and a weasel later, you cursed under your breath when the rabbit you had been chasing for the past half an hour, slipped between your fingers yet again. _Why did they only tag the fast ones?!_ Just as you were about to give up, you pulled down some vines that were hanging from a nearby tree and began twisting them together to make them stronger, wracking your brain trying to remember something you had seen on the Discovery channel a few months ago.

Sitting back on your heels and staring at the makeshift 'trap' that you had fumbled together, you dropped a couple of the fruits into the centre of it and stood back up, snapping your head to the side when you saw something move out of the corner of your eye. You tried not to panic as you breathed harshly through your nose, because whatever it was that was out there, was _big_. Bigger than anything you had come across so far, that you were sure of. Swallowing hard after about a minute and nothing ventured out, you knew it was best not to linger just in case, that and because of the clap of thunder that rolled out overhead.

Counting out your tags after you had managed to tempt over; and astoundingly pet, a white-tailed deer and take your prize, you smirked when you counted seven in all. Throwing yourself behind a large moss covered rock when you heard yelling from behind you; getting closer with each passing second, you covered your mouth with both of your hands so you didn't burst into hysterics when the _douche_ who you now knew as Jack, but preferred using Mary's nickname for him, ran by you in a blur, screaming his lungs out with a possum scrambling up his leg.

"Getitoffgetitoffgetitoooooooooff!"

You couldn't hold your amusement back anymore as he crashed straight into a tree because he wasn't watching where he was going, peals of laughter erupting when he collapsed straight to the floor after knocking himself out cold. Edging out from behind the rock after managing to calm yourself down slightly, a hushed _Yes!_ passed your lips when you saw that the possum had a collar on, and was busy scratching in trying to get at something in Jack's pocket.

"What an idiot..." You uttered under your breath when you pulled off a tag and, saw that the possum had managed to get the protein bar it was after out of his cargo pants.

Glancing over him and deeming he was okay when he was now coming out of it; his eyes flickering and also mumbling something incoherent, you glanced at your watch and hoped that an hour was long enough for your trap to have worked.

Dropping to your knees and sighing when the scrambling rabbit froze in fear, you took one of the remaining two tags and prayed that the reason that there was so few left wasn't due to everyone taking advantage of your idea, flicking out your blade to gently cut away the vine from around the rabbit's foot. After watching it skitter off into the darkness, you wrapped your arms around yourself when the odd spot of rain started getting heavier, the half decent moonlight becoming erratic as more gloomy clouds filled the sky. Determined not to give in, you trudged between the trees; stopping a moment under each for some shelter, now thinking it was going to be almost impossible to find the last tag, as you guessed that most of the wildlife would have scampered off to hide from the weather. 

 

About to call out for one of the masters to say that you were giving up, you were stopped just as you took a deep breath by the sound of a high-pitched squeak from above you, never before so happy to see a pair of beady eyes fixated on you when you looked up. It wasn't that there were animals still about that excited you, it was the glimmer of green that was poking out from underneath its fur and the wonky rings around its tail that gave you hope. Rummaging in your jacket pocket, you scowled when you realised that you didn't have any berries left, crossing your fingers that you could entice it down without any food to offer.

"Here boy... Or girl... Remember me? Wanna come down and let me have one of those things?" You singsonged lowly, raising your arm slowly to try and get it to come closer.

That was not the case, however, because as soon as it went to show interest in your hand, a loud crack of lightning whipped through the sky and it jumped down off the branch it was on, scurrying off before you even had a chance to reach out.

"Damn it!"

You stomped on the ground in anger, your temperament not being able to take much more now that fatigue started creeping up on you, and the rain was becoming dense enough to get you through your sheltered spot. Blowing harshly through your pursed lips, you tugged your hood back up that had been blown down by the wind and got ready to brave the rain again, slapping your forehead when it dawned on you that you knew precisely where the racoon would be headed off to. Now having a renewed sense of vigour, you darted off as fast as you could in the same direction that the creature had run off in, barely even feeling the rain pelt at your face.

Literally skidding to a halt when you managed to push through into the clearing and get to the edge of the lake, you spun around on the spot in search of the racoon, your eyes creasing when you saw it sitting at the mouth of the cave, peeking out from behind the waterfall. Refusing to let a furry mammal get the better of you, you spread your arms to help you keep your balance as you carefully stepped onto the rocks, inching your way towards the cavern.

Stopping about three feet away when the racoon jolted its head up startled, you bent your knees and slowly lowered yourself down; getting ready to pounce on it before it had the chance to run away again, but as soon as you went to spring up your footing eventually faltered, squealing when you fell backwards straight into the lake directly below the waterfall. Coughing and spluttering when you finally made it to the surface, after the cascading water hurled you to the bed several times, you scrambled your way to the edge and held on for dear life as you gulped down several deep breaths.

Your eyes widened as you went to pull yourself up, large hands clasping yours and hauling you up effortlessly onto firm ground again, before holding you steady when you stumbled forward with the motion.

"Are you alright?"

Wiping your face with the backs of your hands when they were released, you were at a loss for words when you finally looked up and saw a drenched Connor, so all you could manage was a small nod. You lowered your head in slight embarrassment when he laid his hand between your shoulder blades and gestured forwards with his other, letting him lead you into the cave and out of the now torrential downpour.

Neither of you said a word as you sat down on one of the logs and Connor struck up the fire, wondering how on earth he managed it in almost total darkness with only a piece of flint and a pocket knife. As soon as the flames roared into life, you leant forwards and raised your hands in front of it, rubbing them together to try and thaw out your now numb fingers.

"Thank you." You mumbled when he handed you one of the blankets off the pile; placing it down next to you while you peeled off your jacket and dropped it to the floor, before shaking it out and wrapping it around you tightly.

You couldn't help but strain little glances at him out of the corner of your eye when he sat down on the other log and added more kindling to the fire, the flames accentuating his features in such a way that made your stomach whirl about, even with his hood still up. You squirmed about on your seat as the wetness of your trousers made them cling to your skin uncomfortably, so you stood up and turned your back to Connor and, held the edges of the blanket between your teeth after kicking off your boots, freeing your hands so you could remove the sodden garment. 

It was no easy feat that was for sure, the rain making them extremely stiff, but you managed to get them undone and push them down to your knees, hopping on one foot as you peeled them off the rest of the way. With your continued bouncing about, you hadn't noticed that the edge of the blanket was getting closer to your foot, until you stepped on it and one side slipped from between your teeth, putting your bare leg and the right side of your ass on display. You grabbed it back quickly, hoping that you hadn't humiliated yourself again, but you knew that you had when you finally wriggled out of your trousers and turned around, lava-hot embarrassment creeping up your face when he was staring at you wide-eyed before quickly diverting his gaze to the floor.

_Just brilliant. First, you nearly drown yourself trying to catch a pipsqueak racoon, now you're flashing him. What next?!_

You stopped mentally beating yourself up when you noticed a mini stream slowly edging closer to your foot, glancing up to see that it was coming from Connors direction, his clothes dripping onto the floor and creating an impressive puddle beneath his feet. Chewing your lip anxiously, you stepped over the small pool and sat down beside him, your brow creasing deeply when he shuffled away from you, almost to the very end of the log.

"Aren't you cold?" You blurted out, sighing when he just shook his head and picked up a stick, poking at the ground randomly.

Staring back at the fire and thinking that you should give up trying to talk to him as you were only here for a couple more days anyway, you stood up and rearranged the blanket so it was now just covering your legs, so the heat would get to your t-shirt and dry it out faster before sitting back down again. Thankfully, you didn't have to sit in uncomfortable silence for very long, as a trill squeak echoed through the cave, the corner of your mouth twitching when you saw the racoon near the entrance to the cave again, sat back on its haunches and staring at you.

You knew that getting up would probably scare it away, so using the same tact as before and extending your hand slowly, you mimicked the cocking of its head when it got up and came close to you, stopping to sniff the air after each step. You didn't dare move when it was now only an inch away from your fingertips, holding your breath while you let it continue closing the gap.

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't have believed what happened next. After a few moments of its whiskers tickling your fingers, it ducked down underneath your hand, lowering its head and unmoving. Not one to ignore a miracle like this, you gingerly parted its fur and plucked the last tag from around its neck, beaming wildly at your achievement. Rolling the tab in your fingers as you watched the racoon move away slightly and curl up into a ball next to the fire, you got up and tucked the blanket around your hips, so it didn't fall down, walking back over to your discarded trousers and rummaging through the pocket.

Clutching all ten pieces of plastic in your palm tightly as you walked back over to Connor and stood directly in front of him, you clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth when he didn't even look up, becoming annoyed at his dismissiveness towards you. Mary had said that he kept mostly to himself, but this was now borderline rude, especially as you had seen him talking to most of the other people here. Grabbing his hand that was resting on his knee, you forcefully turned it over, so it was now palm facing up and dropped the tags into it, before stomping back over and sitting back down on the log with a huff.

You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye when he slowly pulled his hood down, spreading the tabs out with the tip of his finger with what you were sure was a glimmer of a smile that made your heart race, but it disappeared quickly as he tipped them into a pocket in his coat.

"Is there a reason you don't like me?!" 

Turning yourself to face him with every intention of barraging him until you got an answer, instructor or not, you were stopped in your tracks when you saw that he was fidgeting nervously and a slight tinge adorned his cheeks, his eyes darting everywhere but in your direction.

"I-I do like you."

You sat there very confused as with that he suddenly jumped up and turned his back to you, shuffling about with what you guessed was him undoing his jacket, so he didn't have to say anything further. But there was no chance you were letting him off that easy, so you got up and stood behind him just as he dropped his coat on the floor, your eyes drifting to it when he unbuckled his Tomahawk and tossed it on top, cocking your head as your gaze stopped on the diamond-shaped engravings on the handle. 

Raising your arm and tracing the identical markings on your gauntlet, your mouth ran dry as realisation smacked you in the face, swallowing hard and cursing under your breath for being such an idiot. Laying your hand on his arm and pulling at him so he turned around, you didn't realise _just_ how painfully shy he was until now, as he was wringing his hands and staring at where your palm was still on his bicep.

"Thank you, for the bracer."

"You are welcome."

You smiled softly when his eyes lit up with an almost boyish like charm, emboldening you to raise up on your tiptoes and give him a quick peck on the cheek in gratitude. You knew that you had gotten through his barrier slightly; as he didn't flinch at your action, so you decided to press your luck a little bit further and probe about exactly where you stood.

"You said you liked me? How? We've barely spoken, and you don't know me at all..."

_Arse. Back to square one._

Grimacing when his face dropped, and he turned away _again_ , you strained your ears when he surprisingly began mumbling something, but as much as you tried, you couldn't pick up a word.

"What? Sorry, I don't speak mouse." You snickered, hoping that making light of it would help him feel more at ease.

"I said, I do know you. I know that you are determined, strong, and care about those around you a great deal. Even if you do not like them."

Opening your mouth to say something, you snapped it shut again when you didn't know actually _what_ to say, instead you just settled on standing there dumbfounded as he continued on.

"I was impressed you managed to coax over ati:ron, he does not usually like strangers."

"Ahtoo-who?!"

"Ah, tee, lone...Racoon." He corrected with a chuckle, pointing over to the now snoring ball of fur that was still nestled up near the fire.

"Oh, me and him go way back. We're the best of friends."

Grinning now he had an amused smile on his face, you walked over to the back wall and ran your hand over it as the flickering of the fire made it seem like it was moving, now tapping your fingers against it with nervous optimism, as there was only one way he could have known that you had been concerned about the _single_ person that you didn't like here.

"So, how long have you been following me for?"

Turning around with a raised eyebrow when he managed to trip over the bedrolls in panic at your question, you started to feel giddy as you noticed for the second time that he was quite adorable when his cheeks were a tad flushed, and his shyness had begun to wane.

"Guessing it's been a while then."

Taking the subtle shrug of his shoulder while he threw out the bedrolls instead of stacking them up again as agreement with you, you took the initiative and moved the whole three paces between you towards him, knowing if _anything_ was going to happen between you, it was going to have to be _you_ that instigated it. Grasping his hand when he turned around slowly, you held it up against your cheek and nuzzled into it; the roughness of his palm sending a mild tingle through you, giving him a gentle smile when you could feel he was now slightly trembling.

"You are very pretty when you smile (name). I mean, you are always pretty... But when... You just..."

Chuckling as you wondered how on earth a master assassin wasn't able to speak to a girl without becoming a gibbering mess, you cut his babbling short by curling your hand around his neck and pulling him down to you, capturing his lips with your own softly. His mouth stopped moving pretty quickly, but then a sickening wave of dread washed over you as he just froze up, thinking that you had crossed the line when you pulled away and opened your eyes to see that his face was completely blank, not even a flicker of emotion. Your stomach was now twisted in painful knots as you mumbled _sorry_ under your breath, lowering your head to the floor, and thinking you were probably going to get kicked out of here for making such a big mistake.

Your mental scolding was soon halted when he cupped your chin and tilted your head back up, barely giving you a chance to react as he reciprocated the gesture, winding his arm around your back and pulling you against him with a surprisingly sharp tug. He felt like a furnace against you, his heat radiating through his tunic and seeping into your skin like some unknown force was pulling it, as if it knew how desperately you had been craving this.

A whimper caught in his throat when you probed at the seam of his lips, tracing them faintly with the tip of your tongue as he eventually parted them and allowed you to deepen the kiss, making you thrill as he tasted even better than you could have imagined. You tried to pull away when your head began to swim as you couldn't get enough breath, but as soon as you attempted his arm tightened around you and his other hand moved to the back of your head, holding you in place. You didn't want to stop the kiss either, in fact, every part of you was screaming not to, but the burning of your lungs was beginning to overwhelm your desire to carry on, so you did the only thing you could do, which was bite his lip, hard. He looked distraught as his head snapped back at your act, but as soon as he saw that you were panting rapidly, he rested his head on yours sheepishly and licked his lip where you had slightly broken the skin, seemingly not bothered about it at all.

"I am sorry. I have wanted to do that for nearly a month."

The corner of your mouth twitched when you realised that was almost exactly how long you had been here for, pulling him back to you abruptly by his shirt as you were now **very** eager to find out what else he had wanted to do in that time. You rested your hands on his chest as he kissed you again, more gently this time, as if he was afraid of causing you discomfort. It was nice, but you had a growing need inside you, one that was becoming a little vexed at being restrained, so you ran your hands over his shoulders and down his torso, digging your fingers slightly in the delightfully firm muscles; which only served to make your yearning worse, hoping he would take the hint.

You took a sharp breath through your nose when his hands started drifting over you, circling down your back and over your hips timidly, but with enough pressure that your skin tingled under his touch. Exhilaration was bubbling inside you when he moved to your stomach, just grazing over the blanket that was still wrapped around your waist, but it was soon curbed when he drew away quickly, recoiling to your back. Over and over he caressed your arms, back and midriff as if he were handling glass, but as soon as went anywhere close to a more intimate part of you, he retreated away, which was nothing short of infuriating. Shyness was one thing, but you couldn't handle being treated like a porcelain doll anymore, especially when you could feel him straining and holding back against you, with a promise that he was capable of so much more. Taking his face in your hands and breaking away from him slightly with a needy whine, you gazed up lustfully, making damned sure that your desire for him was so blatantly obvious, even he couldn't take it any other way.

"Connor, won't you touch me?" You breathed, desperation lacing your voice as his hands settled on your hips.

"Is that what you want?"

You nodded furiously as he took in your ravenous expression, his whole demeanour instantly changing as if you had flicked some magical switch. Under your gaze, all hesitancy dropped and was replaced with a salacious grin, a carnal look in his eyes that made your mouth run dry and a quiver of excitement spear from your head to your toes. You yelped when he suddenly pushed you back, so you were now pinned up against the wall, his hand carefully gripping you around your throat to keep you in place as he aggressively yanked the blanket from around you.

"Are you sure?" He asked gruffly, his eyes boring into yours as he scratched up your thigh roughly.

 _Ho-ly Crap..._ You knew you wanted more, but this was **very** unexpected. Never in a million years would you have thought he could behave like this. All you could manage was a timid squeak as you had never been aroused this much in your life, your body reacting wantonly by jerking against him, all of your sensitive points tingling in suspense.

"Tell me (name)."

 _Oh for the love of..._ "Yes! Please!" You implored, grasping at his arms with **no** intention of refusing him now.

That was all he wanted. All he needed, was your permission. The second the words tumbled from your lips, he pulled your head to one side and buried his face in your neck, inhaling deeply with a low growl before sinking his teeth in just above your collarbone. The sensation caused you to produce a sharp gasp in his ear, making the rumble in his chest grow louder and his fingers dig the back of your leg harshly.

Your heart was beating louder than a drum when he stepped back and caught the hem of your t-shirt, ripping it in two as if it were tissue paper and tugging the scraps off your shoulders before throwing them to the ground. Every part of you erupted in goosebumps now that you were stood before him in just your underwear, the coldness of the rock against your back barely anchoring you as his eyes roamed over you with a predatory gleam. He caught your wrists as you instinctively went to cover yourself, forcing them to your sides so they didn't mar his view of you.

"Keep them there." He ordered.

You didn't move a muscle when he released your arms, nor when he deftly unhooked the front clasp of your bra, yanking it down and chucking it on top of the tattered remains of your shirt. Swallowing hard and finding yourself staring when his tunic quickly followed suit, you went to raise your hand as you wanted, _needed_ , to touch him, to trace your fingers over the defined curves of his torso, the panty melting V of his abdomen that was almost forcing your eyes to drift lower to the impressive tenting in his trousers, but you soon stopped yourself when his eyes narrowed devilishly.

A wicked smirk pulled at his lips when your hand snapped back, rewarding you for your behaviour by crashing his mouth against yours hungrily, his tongue pushing inside and thrashing against yours as he cupped your breast, plucking and squeezing the peak until it ached. Tingling shivers rattled in your lower stomach when his other hand dove straight down your knickers, thrusting his fingers into your sopping wet crease with urgent desire. You thought at that moment he was going to revert to his hesitant, timid self when he gasped loudly and stole his mouth away to look down at just how drenched his fingers were, but he quickly regained himself by slipping the digits into his mouth, closing his eyes briefly and letting out the most, _animalistic_ growl you'd ever heard. Your eyes darted about for a moment when you actually thought a wolf had made its way into the cave, but you quickly realised that was not the case when he twisted his fingers around the band of your knickers, snapping them so they fell down your legs and pooled around your ankles.

His hand delved back between your legs quickly, the pad of his finger roughly massaging your swollen clit and sending shocks of pleasure through you, making you cry out as soon as he made contact and grab hold of his shoulders, so you didn't slide down the wall. 

"You are supposed to do as your instructors tell you. Now I must think of a fitting punishment."

You whimpered when his already gravelly voice dropped a few octaves lower, with such fierce conviction that it made you quake and think you had made the wrong move as his hand stopped in its ministrations.

"You must not, until I say you can."

"Mustn't what?" You croaked, your eyes pleading with him to continue before you went out of your mind.

Letting out a little huff when he raised his eyebrow and you realised what he was getting at, your slight annoyance dissipated when he picked you up without the faintest trace of exertion and threw you onto the bedrolls with such force, you almost bounced off of them and onto the stone floor. He dropped straight to his knees between your legs as you went to sit up, pushing you back down and keeping you there by propping himself up on his elbow to the side of you and giving you another bruising kiss. Your back arched, so your breasts were pressed up against him when he resumed groping at your mound, his fingers sliding either side of your throbbing nub, teasing you until you were almost screaming for harsher touch.

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders as much as you could manage; figuring if you were already being punished for not doing as he asked you may as well carry on, your nails dug into his back; leaving deep crescent moons that made him hiss against your lips, as your writhing made him repeatedly brush against your clit, making the deeply seeded warmth inside you grow to almost exploding point. As soon as your legs started shaking, he stopped again, dragging his fingers up your stomach and leaving a trail of your juices in their wake with a ragged snarl. 

"What did I say?"

You could smell your own muskiness on his fingers as he took your chin almost angrily, making you shrink back into the blanket with the most demure look you could manage.

"I can't help it... I-it just feels so good." You whispered coyly, making his annoyance melt away and hunger return quickly, mingled in with a proud smirk.

That was apparently the right thing to say, as he shuffled down so his head was now level with the valley between your breasts, the flat of his tongue running over where his fingers had been, lapping up your essence greedily. Your hands balled into fists when he never stopped in his decent, spreading your legs as far as they would go to bare you completely, avoiding your nether regions and stopping just above your knees. It was glorious torture when he nipped at the sensitive flesh of your inner thighs, the pain mingling with pleasure had you mewling and squirming within seconds, desperately trying to stop yourself from getting too excited again.

That easier said than done when you felt a hot puff of air over your entrance, moments before he plunged his tongue as deep as it would go inside you without warning, wiggling it about before drawing out and lavishing attention higher in a magnificent assault. Your hand shot down, and you grabbed a hunk of his tied back hair when he suckled on your clit, tugging at him harshly which he seemed to like judging by the grunts he was making, and the firm slap on your ass in return, but it did **you** no good as it only made him ravage you faster.

You made the _biggest_ mistake of looking down, the sight of him now rasping at your engorged lips had all of your limbs quaking, barely hanging on by a thread as the burning ache inside you threatened to burst, so you pleaded with him, fretting that if you orgasmed he would stop again, before letting you have what you so badly needed most of all.

"Connor... I-I can't...hold..."

He stopped just in time, making an involuntary sob tear from you as _masochistic ass_ rolled over and over in your mind, unable to move other than to drape your arm over your face, the agonising clenching of your muscles from holding back not letting you do anything. You couldn't even gather the strength to look down when you heard distinctive shuffling, even through the waterfall and the hammering rain that was still going on outside. You squealed when you were suddenly flipped over on your front and were dragged back, so you were now on all fours, one heavy hand holding your side firmly, the other lining himself up with your opening, just poking at you and holding there for a moment. A _very_ loud indrawn gasp of air followed by an ecstatic wail was what you produced when he slid his length inside you in one swift motion, grateful that he didn't yet start moving as your walls danced on the fine line between pleasure and pain, a burning prickle as you adjusted to his size. He hunched over so his chest was pressed firmly against your back; but not resting any of his weight on you, kissing your cheek surprisingly tenderly before whispering in your ear. 

"Now you can let go."

He moved back to kneeling behind you and dug his fingers into the soft flesh just below your hips, and thrust into you deep and hard, pulling you against him everytime he withdrew at a relentless pace. Your every nerve was singing in delight as your fantasies had finally become a reality, him filling you over and over so perfectly, and the sounds of your ass slapping against his groin had you in a state of uncontrollable delirium in no time at all. You were definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but it was assuredly worth it for this. Your limbs were quaking after only a few of his vigorous thrusts because he had kept you on the brink for so long, dropping your head down and burying it in the blanket as you were already on the verge of exploding in a spectacular release. Because he had denied you several times, your climax was stronger, longer than you had ever experienced before. A tear rolled down your cheek when it finally surged through you, every liberating wave feeling like it was drowning you in pleasure as your back arched and screamed out, prolonged by Connor actually _howling_ when he felt you tighten and clench around him.

The drive of his hips never slowed as your walls continued to flutter around his length, in fact, he emphasised your moans by ramming himself into you with feral savagery everytime a noise came out of your mouth. The only time his pace altered was when he encased your knees between his own, squeezing your legs shut which served to make him feel bigger inside you if that were even possible. He leant over you again and slammed his arm to the ground at your side so he didn't crush you, his other hand slithering over your stomach and sliding through your crease, his finger stroking and goading your still aching nub, making the muscles in your stomach immediately constrict again.

He was uttering something that you didn't quite understand as he buried his face in your neck, his breath hot and ragged as he continued rutting against you with incredible stamina, making your second orgasm grow almost as fast as the first. You turned your head and tried to kiss him when your climax grew ever nearer, but with the rocking of your bodies, all you could manage was fleeting pecks in between his thrusts. Your arms were wobbling from being ramrod straight for so long, and your mind had forgotten the ability to let you breathe as you were on the verge of ecstasy once again. You knew he was close too as his panting became heavier, his pace erratic and jarring as he croaked out in your ear.

"Please (name), let me feel you a-again..."

And that's when you lost it. Your climax crashed down on you like a ton of bricks, wracking your entire body in indescribable euphoria for the second time tonight. You screamed when his arm that was around your waist tightened, and he let out a bellowing howl, pumping into you with a few more powerful snaps of his hips. Panting together as you both continued to twitch, he groaned lightly when several smaller ripples of energy ran through you and caused you to tense up around him again. He kissed your temple as he pulled out gently, running his finger through your combined climaxes that were now dripping down your leg and onto the bedding.

As you collapsed down and rolled onto your side in pure exhaustion, he laid down next to you on his back and pulled you on top of him, tilting your chin up with a gentle smile and brushing your face with his fingertips delicately.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmm, I'm more than okay." You hummed gently, the wide smile creeping up your face proving that. "I've got to admit, I wasn't expecting that, at all. I thought you were going to run off when I kissed you."

"I..." He trailed off and swallowed hard before continuing, slightly nervous again as he cupped your cheek and gazed into your eyes affectionately. "I have never behaved like that before, but I could not stop myself. I am, sorry, if it was too much."

"You're kidding right?! There's definitely no need to be sorry, I promise you. That was amazing."

You whimpered when he pulled you to him and captured your lips with his, kissing you so profoundly and with such ardour that your head swam and your vision became blurry.

"I guess you bring out the best in me." He breathed when he eventually released you, nudging your nose with his.

"I'll happily take the blame for that. You do realise you're laying on the wet patch?"

He chuckled softly as he wound his arm around you, pulling you down to lay on his chest and holding you tightly as he kissed the top of your head.

"There has been a 'wet patch' in my bed every night since you arrived here. I have become used to it."

Your head snapped up, and your eyes danced when you saw he was blushing heavily at his admission, just the thought of him pleasuring himself sending a tingle through you, but you were too exhausted to do anything about it now. Your brow furrowed slightly as your eyes flickered up and you saw it was starting to get light out, a twinge of panic as you glanced at your watch as saw it was nearly 5 am. As if he had read your mind, he leaned over and dragged his coat over by his fingertips, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out his mobile phone.

"No one will come looking for us." He mumbled after sending a quick message, tossing his phone to the side before returning his arm around you and gently stroking your back.

If anything, that made your anxiety even worse, as reality now slapped you hard in the face. Now someone else knew that you were here, probably not that you were completely butt naked and laying on top of your instructor, but it wouldn't take a genius to work it out. You had broken god knows how many rules, and if by some miracle you didn't get kicked out, you were only here for two more days, and you figured there wasn't much chance you would get to see him again. The worry creasing your features must have been more than apparent, as he suddenly sat up; which forced you to straddle over his legs, and his hands held your head so you couldn't look away.

"What is the matter? I did hurt you, didn't I?!"

"No!" You blurted quickly, quelling any of his assumptions that he had done anything wrong. "I'm- we're going to get into trouble for this, aren't we?"

He looked thoroughly confused for a moment, and his eyes darted around as he tried to figure out what you were talking about, shaking his head softly with a sigh when he eventually came to a conclusion.

"Mary did not tell you?"

"Tell me what?!"

"That she cleared you for field work a few days ago. That you are no longer a newbie."

Now it was your turn to be baffled, staring at him blankly but getting slightly distracted as you had never noticed the flecks of gold in his eyes before. He grumbled under his breath before pulling you back down to laying on top of him again, grabbing a blanket to cover you both as the fire had almost died out.

"Mary is not a student here, she is my boss. She pretends to be a pupil so she can find ones with great potential, the ones who could become masters, with the right amount of training. You are the first she has chosen in four years."

Your eyes were as wide as saucers as you just stared at the wall, thinking that this had to be some kind of joke, but as soon as you looked back up at him and saw he was deadly serious, a bubble of laughter erupted which made him smile as you made a mental note to attempt to kick her ass when you saw her later.

"She neglected to tell me that. So what happens now? With us I mean."

His face dropped and he looked solemn at the thought of being apart from you, holding onto you so tightly that you were barely able to breathe.

"Well, I shall be returning to Massachusetts the day after tomorrow. So I am not sure what to do. What will you be doing?"

You grinned wildly and shuffled up to litter his face with kisses before planting a big one straight on his lips, gasping and looking down when you could feel him getting hard again at your writhing on top of him.

"After sorting that? Going home to Massachusetts and inviting you over to help me unpack."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So when I first wrote this my inbox blew up for a second chapter, and strangely enough a lot of you wanted some insecure angsty reading? Heres me thinking y'all were here for the smut XD (don't worry, there's plenty of that too!)
> 
> I hope it's what everybody wanted, enjoy ❤

After some idle chit-chat and couple of blissful hours of sleep, you got dressed, (sans knickers and t-shirt) and headed back to the camp alone, as you had both agreed that you didn't want everyone knowing about the two of you _just_ yet.

The first thing on your to-do list was to find Mary and give her an ear bashing for not telling you that you had passed training, and you didn't have to feel like you were walking on eggshells anymore. You soon spotted her alone outside the teacher's barracks, holding a clipboard and filling in a chart that had been posted on the wall with all of the recruits names on it, and their scores from the task last night. So far, yours was unfilled.

"Hey, Mary! Or should I say, mentor?"

She turned around slowly with a massive grin, poking you in the arm playfully with the back end of the marker she was using with a chuckle.

"Bout time you figured it out, fish. Or did someone tell ya?"

"I'm soooo glad I amuse you. Jack only got seven?! He's not going to be happy about that."

You tried to act as nonchalant as you could, staring at the chart while she bit her lips in trying to hold back her smile, but her attempts only made you burst out into a fit of giggles, accompanied by your cheeks getting considerably warmer as she gave you a knowing smirk.

"Aye, dunno who won yet, still waiting on Connor to come back with the rest of the scores. You don't happen to know where he is, do ya?"

"Me? Why would I know where he is?" You babbled quickly, not lacing it with quite as much ignorance as you'd hoped.

She uncharacteristically linked her arm through yours and pretty much dragged you into the barracks, pushing you down onto the sofa after slamming the door shut and dropping down next to you with a wry grin.

"C'mon, you're gonna play it like that? Who do ya think he messaged at five this morning? So you fell in the lake ay?"

Nodding slightly while she continued to stare at you in scrutiny, you fiddled with your cuff as the evening's exploits ran through your mind, trying not to look as pleased as you felt when she rolled her hand in gesturing for you to answer.

"Um, yeah, trying to get the last tag. Connor made a fire so I could get dried off, but I really don't know where he is at the moment. Honest."

Putting on your best 'innocent' face when her eyes narrowed just ever so slightly before shrugging her shoulders, you got up and turned towards the door, hoping to get the chance to finish up a few things before starting the painstaking task of packing your things up later. Mary seemed to have other ideas however, because no sooner after taking your first step she caught you around the wrist and dragged you back down, her eyes widening as big as moons when she pulled the collar of your hoodie to one side and sneered.

"Are those...teeth marks?!"

You almost choked on your own saliva when you gasped loud enough for the entire camp to hear, smacking her hand away as fast as lightning and yanking your hood up, in attempts to hide your neck and now scorching cheeks. Peeking through the fabric after a few moments silence, you slowly pulled it back down when you saw she was still gawking at you, vibrating with a silent laugh.

"I'm takin' that as a yes. Ooh, Connor ya sweet little muffin, who'd have thought you had it in ya? So, you pair are an item then?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I invited him to come over and help me unpack my apartment at the weekend, so we'll just see how it goes I guess." You mumbled, slapping your hand over your neck when she wouldn't stop staring at it.

"That right? Well, in that case, I want ya to promise me something."

Raising your eyebrow when you saw that she had gone from being on the verge of hysterics to deadly serious in less than a heartbeat, you sat there blankly as you waited for her to carry on, wondering what on earth she could possibly want you to give your word on.

"Promise me you won't muck him about? He's a sensitive soul. Only been with one girl that I know of, an she treated him somethin' terrible. Cheated on him and everything."

"Is...that why he's so timid then?"

"No idea, not one to pry. But from the looks of that, he ain't so shy anymore. Hmm, hmm?" she chuckled.

The heat in your face that had just begun to die down came back full force when she kept poking you in jest, so you figured you might as well give her _something_ to shut her up, before the whole world knew what you had gotten up to.

"Oh, that took a lot of persuading. I can't believe I'm talking about this with you."

"Aww, here's me thinking we were mates. Been a while since I've had some juicy gossip."

Chuckling and sighing when she pulled a daft face, you admitted to yourself that she was pretty much your _only_ friend at the moment, sticking your tongue out at her as you got up to leave again; determined to finish off the last bits of your training after what Connor had said about the masters having high expectations of you.

"You're terrible you know that? By the way, I would never mess anyone about, ever. Especially him, and definitely not when it's that good."

Wiggling your eyebrows as she grinned at you, you were so engrossed in making some obscene gestures behind your back, that you didn't notice that Connor was stood just outside the door filling in the rest of the chart until you nearly crashed into him.

"Ah, there you are! Wondered where you'd go to," Mary cackled as she stood just behind you, jabbing you in the ribs as both you and Connor lowered your heads in slight embarrassment.

"I was, tallying up the rest of the scores as you can see. There is a clear winner." 

Glancing up through your eyelashes to see the now complete board, you couldn't help but feel a little smug that you were the only one to collect all ten tags, lurching forward when Mary gave you a hefty pat on the back.

"Would ya look at that? Pretty decent with a bow, and then tracking, fish? Now, who else do I know like that?"

Knowing she wasn't going to let up anytime soon as she stood there pretending to think while tapping her chin with her finger, you shot Connor an apologetic look and slyly brushed your fingertips against his, running off quickly towards the dorms while Mary was busy looking at the rest of the results.

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

"What _are_ you doing??!"

Looking up from making your best starfish impression on top of your case; which was refusing to close, you burst out laughing when Mary and Edward just stood there staring at you, cocking their heads with identical puzzled expressions.

"I'm not exactly a good packer. Either of you fancy giving me a hand? Or am I your entertainment for the day?"

It was Edward that volunteered, shooing you off with a wry grin and sitting on it himself, bouncing on it while you tugged the zip closed a little bit at a time.

"Thanks for that, I've been at it for the past half hour! Did you need me for something?"

Rolling your eyes when Edward dragged your bag off the bed and onto the floor; comically over exaggerating the weight of it, you reached out and took the envelope Mary was holding out to you, flipping it over in your hands as you examined it.

"Orders for when ya get home fish. Don't open it till you get back. Need to come with me, got some paperwork ya need to fill in."

"What... Paperwork?" You grumbled, recalling the mountain of it you had to do before you even got here.

"Not a lot, just a couple of disclaimers, bank details and stuff like that. Trust me, I hate it too, but it's gotta be done."

Mumbling and whining to yourself as you followed her down to the mentor's barracks, you halted in your tracks when you looked at the chart out of the corner of your eye, to see that your score had been crudely scrubbed out, and the number eleven had been drawn on top. Even more confused when a heavy arm dropped around your shoulders and knuckles rubbed harshly against your head, you looked up at Edward; who was grinning wildly, glaring at him as he dragged his finger under your name.

"I changed it. A little birdie told me that you caught a bonus animal in the woods."

"You...told him?!? Gah! Is nothing a secret around here??" You blurted, utterly mortified as both of them chuckled and ushered you inside.

"What? Told ya we don't get much gossip around here fish, and unlucky for you, that's as lush as it comes!"

Just about to come back with a sarcastic retort, you were distracted by your phone beeping from inside your jacket pocket, having forgotten it was even there as you hadn't been allowed it during your training. Tugging it out and hiding the screen away from Edward when he tried to peek over your shoulder to see what it was, a soft smile crept up your face when you opened up the message, scanning it quickly as Mary was now sitting at her desk waiting for you.

**'I was wondering if you would like to travel back with me later as we are going to the same place? It would be much better than the bus, and I would enjoy your company. Connor.'**

Hastily typing back 'Yes!' before stuffing it back in your pocket, your slight good mood and smile were quickly eradicated when Mary dropped an inch thick bind of papers in front of you with a hefty thud.

 

 

Flexing your wrist after it had started cramping up from writing your signature so many times, you ran back to your dorm when you saw that everyone was bustling about and packing up, grabbing your bag quickly and standing outside waiting for Connor. Precisely four o'clock on the dot he pulled up in a silver Land Rover, jumping out and freezing to the spot several paces away as his gaze drifted over you.

"You look, nice in a dress." He mumbled quietly as he took your bag, dropping it on the back seat before opening the passenger side door for you; his eyes not budging from your legs.

Glancing down at yourself with a coy smile as you had forgotten you were wearing one; with it being the only clean thing you had left and you couldn't be arsed to do any laundry, you spun around on the spot when someone shouted out, gritting your teeth in annoyance when you saw who it was.

"Ohhhhh! I see how it is! Maybe next time **I'll** bang an instructor to get better scores!"

You saw Connor flex his fist out of the corner of your eye as Jack stood there with his arms crossed and laughing to himself, but before either of you had a chance to say anything back, Mary appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the annoying git by his shirt, launching him up against the wall with a sickening bang and holding him there firmly.

"Something to say? Douche?!" She growled in his face, making you smirk as he stood there cowering and shaking his head. "Didn't think so. No one around here would have you anyway. Now go and find Jacob, he's lookin' for you."

Waving to Mary after she pretty much threw him to the side and gave you a thumbs up, you climbed in the car and turned to face Connor as he started the engine, laughing as he was biting back a grin.

"Remind me never to get on her bad side."

"She is a good friend. Very protective over those she cares about."

Humming in agreement as he pulled off down the gravel road that acted as a driveway, you wiggled about in your seat, getting comfy for the nearly five-hour drive home before pulling faces at all of the people that were packed in like sheep on the bus.

 

 

Roughly halfway into the drive, you were giggling at a story he was telling you about how he chased a black bear for over an hour when it ran off with his camping supplies, rubbing your stomach when it did a little growl at the thought of food. Reaching behind you to the plastic bag you had tied to your case before you left, you pulled out a punnet of strawberries that you had managed to nab from the kitchen before everything was carted away, shrugging your shoulders and stuffing one in your mouth when you offered some to Connor, but he shook his head gently and mumbled he wasn't hungry.

"Oh wow, these are amazing! Never had any before, they were all gone by the time I'd made it to dinner."

"They are all homegrown. Most of the camp is self-sustaining, it is one of the reasons I like working there."

To be perfectly honest, you hadn't noticed that about the place at all, being far too busy running your ass off in trying to keep up with everyone else. Leaning forward and cupping your hand under your face when you bit into the next berry and its juice dribbled down your chin, you looked across out of the corner of your eye when Connor cleared his throat just as you were licking your lips, to see he had gone extremely fidgety all of a sudden. Thinking it was because you were making a mess and it could end up all over his upholstery, you ran your tongue over your fingers quickly, cleaning yourself up the best you could.

Hoping that you had done enough to put him at ease, you glanced up again, your eyebrow raising slightly as he now looked even worse. His eyes were fixated entirely on the road in front of him; as if to avoid looking at you, and he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were almost white and he was seemingly on the verge of ripping it off. Tapping your fingers on your leg as you wondered what on earth you could have done wrong, the corner of your lips tugged upwards when your gaze lowered, settling on the growing bulge pressing tightly against his jeans.

_Ohhhhhhh..._

Something like that never even crossed your mind as you were fretting about spilling fruit juice everywhere, a wicked glint emerging in your eye as you considered something naughty. He got all the fun before; surely it was your turn? Placing the punnet on the floor and unclipping your seatbelt before you talked yourself out of it; doing it back up behind you when the dash began beeping that it wasn't secure, you shuffled across your seat, closing the gap between you.

"W-what are you doing?!" He stammered as you trailed your fingers up his inner thigh, his gaze unwavering but his muscles tensing up so hard you could have been touching stone.

Completely ignoring him as he tried to push your arm away with his elbow, you nudged your hand further into his lap and located the buckle to his belt, deftly undoing it along with the button and zip to his jeans, eager to free him before he was fully erect, and your task became that much harder. You bit your lip as you untucked his shirt and wiggled your fingers down his boxers, the loud gulp that tore from him as you wrapped your palm around your prize like music to your ears.

"Please...stop. I-I am driving... You cannot... What..."

"Eyes on the road," You whispered as you eased him out, coiling your thumb and forefinger just below his head and rubbing gently, more determined to go through with this now he was all cute and flustered.

Even though he was protesting, you knew he could have pulled over and stopped you if he really meant it, so giving him a little wink when his eyes briefly flickered to you once again, you leant over (thankful that the car was an automatic and a gearstick wasn't in your way) and ducked under his shaking arm, immediately plunging your mouth over him and sucking your cheeks in. You stayed still for a moment until he stopped squirming as you didn't fancy getting choked, curling your hand around the base to hold him steady when you pressed the flat of your tongue firmly against him as you glided your lips up.

Judging by his reaction he hadn't experienced this very much; if at all as you began a slow and steady rhythm, the creaking of leather straining from above your bobbing head, mingled in with his whimpering only confirmed that. You unintentionally swallowed as you went over a few bumps in the road, earning you a sharp intake of breath and his hand dropping to the back of your head; making you think he was actually going to stop you, but instead your eyes creased with a smile when he stroked the nape of your neck briefly before snapping it back up to resume its position at the wheel.

You knew you had to be careful now when the increasing jolting of the car let you know you were on the dirt track exactly halfway home, as you were already struggling to keep your mouth around his size as it was, without being bounced off too. Eventually giving up trying _not_ to dribble your saliva down him; needing to gasp for air and the throbbing against your tongue making your mouth water even more, you slacked your jaw but increased the speed of your hand, hoping he would at least forgive you for drooling on his jeans.

Covering his tip with your lips when you could feel his legs quivering underneath you and his whimpers had evolved into deliciously sinful full-blown groans, you were glad you had kept your hand around him as with one last big jerk he thrust to the back of your throat, almost gagging when he spurted his hot seed against the roof of your mouth with a roaring cry.

Drawing off him steadily as you didn't want to spill any more bodily fluids on him, you swallowed quickly as you were now breathless and licked your lips to get the last remaining traces off, tucking him back in as much as you could manage before wiping your chin with the back of your hand. You hadn't managed to get back into your seat your seat properly when your attention was pulled away to behind you, the flickering of red and blue lights filtering through the rear window, accompanied by a siren making you snap your eyes to the speedo.

"How fast were you going?" You whispered, chewing on your lip as he struggled to compose himself and his brow knitted into a frown.

"Forty."

"Oh, that's okay-"

"Over the limit..."

Hopping back into your seat in a blur as he pulled over and took his licence from out of the glovebox, you smoothed yourself down and kept your gaze on your lap as he rolled down the window when the officer tapped on it, more than ashamed that you had managed to get him into trouble.

"Ah, Connor my boy, it's you! Care to tell me why you were running like a bat outta hell down here?"

"My sincerest apologies Geoff. I was, distracted, and this road is so tedious, I was not aware of how fast I was going. It will not happen again."

Peeking up and forcing a smile when the slightly older than middle-aged sheriff tipped his hat at you, you rubbed your cheeks when you could feel them getting warmer as he leant on the door, peering into the car and noticing Connors state of, _undress_ , throwing you a knowing wink.

"Distracted hey? That's a new one. What might your name be miss?"

"(Name). Sir."

Playing along, giving him a genuine grin and rubbing the corner of your mouth with your thumb as he tapped on his own, you knew you had gotten away with it as he handed Connor back his licence, chuckling to himself now it was blatantly obvious as to why you were speeding.

_Thank god for dirty old men..._

"Nice to meet ya (name). Hope to see you around more, but not like this. Let you off with a warning, just keep to the limit okay?"

"Yes, sir." You both blurted out in unison as he walked back to his car.

Picking up the strawberries again after Connor had haphazardly done himself up and pulled off; as even though he hadn't tasted bad you needed something to freshen your palette, you popped a small one in your mouth before turning to face the music.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to get you into troub-"

"Why did you do that?"

 _What an odd question to ask?!_ You thought, your eyes glued to his face that was utterly devoid of expression.

"Erm, because I thought you'd enjoy it? Why, didn't you?"

Slumping back in your seat when he didn't answer, you spent the next few miles in silence, with nothing to do but question what kind of relationship the two of you could have if he refused to talk to you about things like this.

"I did enjoy it. Very much. But surely you could not?" He eventually blurted out.

Smirking when he couldn't have been more wrong about that, you twisted around so you could talk to him face to face, hoping to keep him engaged in conversation long enough to find out why he was so shocked at what you had just done.

"Oh, I did. Not quite as much as you obviously, but it still excited me."

Cocking your head when he looked deep in thought, you let out an involuntary sigh as it was becoming quite exasperating at having a quick conversation last ten minutes, until you scolded yourself for not remembering what Mary had told you, forcing yourself to be a little bit more patient. He was most definitely worth it after all.

"But... how?"

"You want proof?!"

Tugging up your dress and shoving your hand into your knickers, you ran your middle and forefinger through your crease, liberally coating them in your arousal before holding them out next to him, his eyes widening when he saw the glistening digits.

"Believe me now? Kissing you turns me on, sucking you turned me on, hell, even standing next to you makes me all tingly. **You.** Do this to me."

Squealing when he suddenly slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt on the side of the road, your heart was beating hard enough to burst out of your chest when he bolted out and walked towards the back of the car, leaving you looking around furiously for a reason he would stop like this. You nearly jumped out of your skin when your door was yanked open, hastily unclipping your seatbelt when he took your hand firmly and pretty much dragged you over the road and down the side of the run-down gas station, picking you up and plonking you down on top of a stack of crates behind it.

You sat there with your jaw slightly dropped as he just stared at you for what felt like an eternity; as if he were committing every detail to memory, a _filthy_ smirk creeping up his face as his hand slithered around your neck.

"I believe you," was all he growled before crashing his mouth against yours, devouring your lips as if his life depended on it.

Grabbing hold of and clinging onto his shirt when his other arm wove around your waist and dragged you forward; so you were hardly balanced on the edge of the crate and pressed up firmly against his chest, you took the opportunity to catch a deep breath when his lips broke from yours slightly after a moan rumbled from your throat.

"As much as I liked hearing you scream, you must be quiet this time. Understand?"

 _Wait... what, here?!_ You spotted several people as you passed the front, and it would only be a matter of time before someone found you. Before you could rush your concerns his mouth was on yours again, sucking the air out of your lungs as his hand snaked between you to hoist your dress up, yanking your knickers to the side and thrusting his middle finger deep inside you.

Gasping and moaning into his kiss as his palm pressed on your clit and he rocked his hand, so both of your pleasure points were stimulated at the same time, any worries that you initially had melted away as you clawed at his arms, trying to keep your balance when you began to tremble. Just as the deeply seeded warmth started to grow inside you, you swallowed back a needy keen when he dragged himself away from between your legs and closed them slightly, lifting you just enough so he could wiggle your pants down and throw them to the floor.

"I have changed my mind, I am hungry after all."

Your eyes widened when he dropped to his knees and pulled your legs around his neck, leaving your ass hanging in the air and your fingers digging into the edge of the crates to keep yourself from falling. Your teeth dragged over your bottom lip in anticipation when he knelt there for a moment and inhaled deeply, apparently admiring the view before him.

"Remember. Shhh."

"B-buuu-aaaah!"

Biting your lips together quickly when he circled the tip of his tongue around your clit, you knew full well that this was going to be a challenge and a half as his fingers dug in painfully into the soft flesh just below your hips to stop you from squirming, but you paid it no mind as he was now running his flattened tongue all the way down to your entrance and back up again, stimulating all the right spots. Dropping to your elbows as your arms were shaking so much you and it was taking a lot of effort to keep balanced up, you held your whimpers back as much as you could when he suckled and licked at you eagerly, his only intention to make you climax. No teasing or working you up this time, and he was doing a damned good job of it.

How you weren't cutting off his circulation as your thighs tightened around his neck was beyond you, his even firmer grip and increased pace affirming that he knew you were getting close. You almost faltered when he curled his hands closer to your mound, using the tips of his fingers to spread you apart further; the sensitive skin now pulled tautly, and the sensation from every lick was heightened. Crossing your ankles around his back and locking them there when you began to quake, your hands balled into fists as you breathed harshly through your nose, only needing that little bit more to send you over the edge. 

That came when he decided to look up at you, his gorgeous chocolate orbs now darkened with desire capturing your gaze and holding it, until with one more harsh suck on your clit and a deep groan that sent delightful vibrations through you, you threw your head back and hurled into rapturous bliss, doing everything in your power not to cry out. Jerking and twitching uncontrollably as he continued to lap at you after pressing his tongue against your fluttering opening, you were grateful he lifted you back up onto the crates instead of dropping you down, as standing was far from one of the things you were able to do right now.

You managed to slow your panting by the time he got back up and wiped the glossy sheen of your juices from his chin with his thumb, sucking on it thoroughly with a devilish smile as if he didn't want to miss a single drop.

"Much better than strawberries," he growled as he stepped between your legs again and curled one arm around your back, hovering his mouth an inch from yours with a slight uncertainty if he could kiss you or not.

Gasping when he moved closer and you had no choice but to curl your still shaky legs around the back of his, you slid your hand in between you and palmed him through his jeans, confirming your suspicions that he was indeed, as hard as a rock again.

"Don't you ever go down?" You giggled jokingly, biting the corner of your lip when he nudged your hand up to his belt.

"Around you? No."

The second your eyes lit up and you pulled the leather through the buckle, his hesitancy dropped, and he closed the remaining gap between you; capturing your lips greedily with his own again, the urgency and faint bite of your climax in his kiss making the process of undoing his jeans almost impossible with one hand. So squeezing your other in down to make it easier, you were extremely thankful that in his previous haste he had only done the button up, and not the zip too.

Pushing him back slightly so you could shuffle his clothing over his hips, no sooner had you got them over his ass he drove into you straight and true, swallowing your elated squeal before anyone that happened to be around could hear. You slid your legs up to around his waist as he set up a frantic pace that most men would fatigue at quite quickly, yelping and leaning back as your tailbone began knocking against the hard wood with each vigorous movement. 

Your eyes rolled back and, you had to pull away from his mouth to gasp as in this position he was hitting your g spot almost perfectly, your body already tensing up as the tingling warmth blossomed in your abdomen. His arm around you pulled you in to meet his thrusts, and the low growl that was rumbling in his throat caused shameless whimpers to fall from you, but now you were going rigid for another reason. You became all too well aware that the way you were sat was making the cases bang loudly into the wall behind you, and it didn't take him long to realise it either when you looked behind you slightly panicked.

Draping your arms over his shoulders and lacing your fingers together as he pulled you tightly against him and, lifted you up, you couldn't stop an ecstatic wail ripping from you as you sunk back down on his length, so he did the only thing he could do in that situation, which was to snap his free hand up and clamp it over your mouth. He held you still for a moment and tried to look displeased that you'd done something that could get you into trouble for the _second_ time today, but that was quickly marred by the smug grin that was slowly creeping up his face.

You clung onto him like a vine as he began sliding you up and down him with one arm; not quite believing just how strong he was and able to do such a thing, your bubbling mewls still muffled by his fingers pressed over your lips. You managed to control yourself just enough by breathing harshly through your nose, your eyes creasing in a smile as his widened when you shuffled your head and took one of his fingers in your mouth, teasingly flicking your tongue over it. That was something he _definitely_ liked, as he pulled his hand away and wrapped it around your back; so he had better leverage, bouncing you on him faster and with such vigour, you weren't sure if you could hold on any longer. Your legs began to spasm and feel weak as you were on the edge of that delicious plateau, winding your fingers into the collar of his shirt as you kissed his cheek in between boundings, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"C-Connor... I-I'm gonna..."

Before you could say anything further, he moved his hand up to the back of your head and pushed your face into the crook of his neck, almost squeezing the air out of your lungs as your climax consumed you, making you bite down and suck hard on his skin. You could feel him fighting the urge not to groan out loud the same as you when he pulled you down on him hard several times more, muting his sounds of pleasure against your shoulder as he hit his own peak and, quaking as his hot breath puffed hard along your collarbone.

Giggling softly as he gently sat you back down and helped you pull your dress back up over your chest; the writhing against him having slid it down to just below your bra, you shuddered in sensitivity as he pulled out of you, planting soft kisses on your lips before bending down to pick up your underwear.

You quickly fixed yourselves up when you could now hear voices and they started getting closer; your smile getting wider as he took your hand and led you back to the front, but it soon dropped, and you both froze to the spot when the same officer from before was leant up against Connors abandoned (and wide open) car, tutting and shaking his head mockingly.

 

 

The sheriff was not quite as amused by your mischievous activities the second time around, and had given you a ticket this time around for blocking the road and creating a hazard. You had offered to put half towards it of course, but Connor had insisted that he would take care of it himself as it was 'his eagerness' as he put it, that caused him to get the penalty. 

"Are you sure I can't give you something? I feel really guilty now."

"I am sure," he chuckled, tapping on the screen on his dash when a message popped up. "Do you mind if we take a slight detour? I need to pick up some work. I know it is late, but it is not too far out of the way."

Shrugging your shoulders as if to say go ahead; as you weren't in a rush to get back to a mound of boxes anyway, you sniggered to yourself as you realised he wasn't kidding about it not being far, when he pulled up across the street from a bar literally two blocks from your apartment.

"Most of us have two jobs. It helps to keep some sense of normality in our lives, which you will soon learn." He explained when you looked slightly confused, before getting out and walking over to a man who was holding a folder and seemed to be waiting for him.

You drummed your fingers on your lap while you waited for them to do their thing, until you glanced up and saw both of them gazing over in your direction, and if they were trying to be subtle in the fact they were talking about you, they were failing miserably. Sitting up straighter and making sure you looked at least half presentable as they walked back over, you didn't even get a chance to introduce yourself when the other person lent in on the frame of the door, very much invading your personal space.

"Hi, I'm Desmond. Connor said you've just finished training? Must have some serious skills to make it out of that place in one piece! You got your orders yet?"

Blushing slightly at the compliment, you shrugged your shoulders and reached behind you to unzip the pocket on the side of your bag, pulling out the envelope Mary had given you earlier today, figuring you were technically home so it would be okay to open it now.

"Well, I had some help and, incentive," you giggled, casting a glance at Connor which only served to make your brows knit together as he looked a little, irked at something, his eyes darting between you and Desmond. "Right, orders. Says here that I'm to join the surveillance team?"

"Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other, that's my group. We start early, five on Monday morning. See you then!"

You grimaced at the thought of being awake before the sun came up; as a month of it at the camp already was enough to drive you to the brink of insanity, but you flashed Desmond a smile none the less when he gave you a wink and turned on his heel to return to work, Connor getting back in the car shortly after.

"He seems nice. Do you work with him too?"

"No. I am a field tactician, although it has been some time since I have been out. Does the letter say who you will continue your training with?"

Humming to yourself as you continued reading, (trying not to dwell on why the tone of his voice was so monotonous) you flipped over to the second page when you couldn't see anything at all, but scoffed when you got to the bottom and it said 2/3 pages, but the third was missing.

"Nothing here, Marys missed a part off. Are you okay? You've just gone past my apartment."

You grinned when he hit the brakes and reversed back looking a bit sheepish, waiting for a moment after he stopped as you knew something was bothering him, and you hoped that he would tell you what.

"I am just a bit tired. Shall I still come over tomorrow to help you unpack?" He mumbled, looking deep in thought.

Biting your lip and nodding enthusiastically, you lent over and cupped his face in your hands, kissing him deeply; which made his frown instantly melt away, before getting out and opening the back to get your bag.

"Is nine alright or is that too early? I'm still on camp time so no doubt I'll be wide awake at the crack of dawn."

"That is fine. See you in the morning."

Hoisting your bag over your shoulder, you gave him a wave and entered your complex, groaning miserably when you saw the elevator was out of service, stomping your way up the several flights of stairs to your floor.

 

 

As expected, the second the light filtered through the window; as you didn't have any curtains yet, your eyes snapped open, whimpering when you rolled on your side and it hurt like hell. Kicking the comforter away still half drowsy, you pulled up your nightshirt to find the cause of the pain, widening your eyes when you saw fingerprint sized bruises littered all over your hips and, down your thighs. There were a couple of darker ones from a few days ago which you'd already noticed, but this time, you were covered. _Worth it._ You smirked to yourself, your stomach filling with butterflies at the thought of seeing Connor again in a few hours. Gingerly rolling out of bed, you pulled over one of the boxes marked 'Bathroom' and rummaged through it until you found some soap and a towel, clambering in your shower in hopes it would wake you up enough to face the excruciating day ahead.

Turning down your music when you just made out a heavy knocking on your door, you skipped over with a beaming grin and nearly ripped it off its hinges when you opened it, revealing a somewhat amused Connor ladened with two hot drinks cups and a small bag.

"Breakfast. I hope muffins are alright," he chuckled as he wrapped his arm around your waist and kissed your cheek lightly, his smile faltering when you hissed almost inaudibly through your teeth. "Have you injured yourself?"

"Hmm? Fine, just a bruise. Muffins are perfect, thank you."

After a quick sugar pick me up you both cracked on with your unpacking, wondering just how much stuff you had as it felt like you had been at it for hours, but you had only managed to get halfway through so far.

"Are you sure you don't mind wasting your Saturday helping me? It's not exactly fun."

Connor poked his head up from behind your Tv stand where he was busy plugging in your games console, and shrugged his shoulders with a soft smile, gesturing for you to come over.

"I can think of nothing better to be doing on my day off, than spending it with you, regardless of what we are doing. Could you pass me that cable? You will need to pull these through when I slide them through the gap."

"Aww, you say the nicest things," you chuckled, staring at the pile of wires on the sofa. "This one?"

He nodded and lent down to push a bundle of cables through the hole in the back so you could finish hooking everything up, getting back up to standing just as you crawled on your hands and knees to grab them. The colour drained from his face when he caught sight of the small of your back and sides where your t-shirt had raised from your movements, a deep frown creasing his features as he couldn't look away. That was not _just a bruise_ like you had said, your beautiful skin was blotched everywhere with them. He had been selfish, careless in losing control and, what was even worse, you had lied about it. He felt guilty about treating you so rough and began to panic at what he had done, climbing out from behind the unit quickly just as you got back up. He couldn't even look you in the eye; keeping his gaze downcast as you cocked your head quizzically at him, slowly backing away towards the door.

"I-I am sorry, I have to go. There is something I have forgotten to do." He stammered, running out faster than a bullet and leaving you stood there jaw slacked, at a complete loss for words.

 

 

Sunday night and you were still upset that Connor had run out on you, and as he hadn't replied to any of your messages or calls, you had been wracking your head to try and figure out why. Staring at your phone as you contemplated sending him another text, you decided against it as you didn't want to come across as clingy, and opted to call Mary instead to find out who you would be training with. You slumped down on your sofa while you waited for her to pick up, with her sounding surprised when she finally answered.

_"Ay up fish, don't tell me you've screwed things up already?! You ain't even started work yet!"_

"No, actually, you have," you jeered, feeling quite smug that she was on the receiving end of a telling off this time, mentor or not. "The training part was missing out of the envelope you gave me. I have no idea what I'm doing."

_"That so? Bet you lost it really. I put you with Connor, seein' as ya took to the same things he's good at. Friday nights, you're welcome."_

"Oh. Thanks."

You sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few moments until she sighed down the line, obviously expecting you to be a bit more excited about it but the tone of your voice said otherwise.

_"Oh? That's it? What did you do..."_

"Nothing! Or at least I think I didn't, it doesn't matter. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."

 _"Don't you dare hang up fish!"_ she screeched, making you hold your phone away from your ear because it was so loud. _"Ya can't just say something like that and not give me the details. Ya both me mates, so spill."_

"Fiiiine! Anyone ever tell you you're kinda pushy? Well, yesterday he came over to help me sort out my apartment as planned, then in a blink of an eye he looked like he'd seen a ghost, and ran out. Not seen or heard from him since."

_"Eh? That don't sound right, want me to talk to him?"_

"No!" You blurted just a little bit harsher than you intended. "No, it's fine, I'm sure it's just something stupid. But thanks for offering."

Another half an hour of trying to convince her that you really didn't need her help, you finally managed to ring off and tossed your phone down by your feet, wishing you hadn't said anything now. It wasn't like he was your _boyfriend_ in the technical sense, although you had hoped he wanted the job, and from what Mary had said to you he wasn't the kind to just want a fling. Laying down and pulling a blanket over you as you _still_ hadn't made up your bed yet, you closed your eyes and attempted to clear your mind so you could get some sleep, not relishing that you had to get up in five hours time.

 

 

Wishing you had some toothpicks to hold your eyelids open, you plodded into the address that was on the letter, double-checking again and wondering if you had come to the right place as it was completely empty. The entire ground floor was going under renovation; with nothing but scaffolding laying about, the only other thing being here was a lift at the far end of the room. Not seeing anywhere else to go, you slowly walked into the elevator and pushed the only button on the panel, bewildered when it suddenly jolted into moving, down.

You poked your head out of the doors when they eventually opened, trying not to look like a complete noob when you had been taken to a large open plan office and Desmond was perched on the edge of one of the desks, apparently waiting for you.

"You're late."

Glancing at your watch to see it was literally three minutes past five, you scoffed when you could tell he was joking, walking over confidently with your hand on your hip.

"Could have told me that I'd be coming down to some secret spy base, thought I'd gotten the wrong place for a minute."

"Yeah sorry about that, must've slipped my mind. Its only while upstairs is being fixed up, not like we chose to be down here in a dungeon! C'mon, I'll show you to your station."

Raising your eyebrows as he slung his arm around your shoulders and led you to a desk opposite his own, you dropped down on the chair and tried to take everything in while he showed you how the computer worked, but he was jabbering on so quick, nothing would sink in.

"Right, so basically you need to track that shipment there until it reaches Portugal and let us know if there's any problems ok. I'll be back to check on you later."

You stared at the flashing dot on the screen blankly as he patted you on the shoulder and left you to it, and couldn't help but think you'd gotten in waaaay over your head, making a note to give Mary a severe ear bashing for this when you saw her next.

Come lunchtime you had managed to pick up a few things out of pure luck by jabbing at random keys on the board, and now that you had sort of figured it out you were sat with your chin resting in your hand, flicking between the screens absentmindedly. Your boredom must have been more than apparent, as Desmond was chuckling to himself as he came over to see how you were doing, crouching down next to you and mimicking your staring.

"Yeah, I know it's boring, but it's only until you get with how we do things around here. The fun will come soon."

"What kind of fun?" You mumbled, thinking even watching paint dry had to be more entertaining than this.

Glancing to your left when he didn't answer, your cheeks felt a little bit warmer when the look on his face was slightly suggestive, nervousness balling in the pit of your stomach. Was he... _flirting_ with you?! He was attractive you supposed, and the scar across his lips was quite cute, but this wasn't the man you wanted, and you definitely weren't about to give up after pursuing Connor for the past month. Taking his expression as a bit of banter, you nudged him in the arm playfully and grinned, returning your focus to your work.

"Better be sooner rather than later, my brains turning to mush staring at this thing! So what was in the shipment?"

"Ah, now that's a secret," he grinned while tapping the side of his nose. "So how you settling in? New apartment all sorted?"

You unintentionally grimaced when what happened Saturday morning replayed in your mind, recovering quickly by shrugging your shoulders and sitting back in your chair, stretching out with a groan as you weren't used to sitting down for so long.

"So-so, I hate doing stuff like that, so it's been a bit slow going. I'll get there in about a month, maybe two."

"I could lend you a hand if you'd like? As long as there's no heavy lifting."

Eyebrows raising to your hairline, you sat there and deliberated his offer for a moment, thinking it would be nice to get everything done so you could actually _live_ in your new place. But if your assumptions were correct, you didn't want to lead him on by accepting, so you decided against it.

"Wow. Um, that's okay, I'll manage. Don't think it would be appropriate for my boss to come home with me and start rifling through my drawers anyway!" You smirked.

"Boss?! Haha! I wish. Nah, we're all equals, I've just been here longer than everyone else. You sure you don't want help? You barely know anyone here, and I won't go snooping, promise."

Drumming your fingers on the desk and sighing; beginning to think that being assertive was mandatory when you're an assassin, somewhat giving in as you knew he was right. Other than Mary there wasn't anyone else you were talking to right now, and she was hours away, not that you would ever dare ask her anyway.

"If you insist, you can put some shelves up for me. I'll write my address down for you."

"No need, already know. The bars not open tonight so I get off at five, that ok? Good. See you in a bit!"

Snapping your mouth shut, so it didn't look like you were catching flies when he gave you a thumbs up and walked off out of sight, you frowned when you rechecked your phone and there were no new notifications, before turning back to the ever so exciting blip on your screen.

 

 

You had no idea why, but you felt nervous as you got up to let Desmond in when he continuously rapped on your door, rolling your eyes when he was leaning up against the frame with his thumb tucked into his pocket as you opened it.

"Hey, not bad. Been meaning to come over here and see what the places were like. They only built this block last year, what's the rent?"

"Just shy of extortionate, but it's worth it for the view," you grinned, crossing your arms as he barged in and started wandering around. "Where shall we start?"

"You said something about shelves?... Oh, sweet set up! You play much?"

At that moment you knew _nothing_ was going to get done tonight when he spied your computer and dropped to his knees in front of your TV, rifling through your games while letting out an impressed hum, then wafting Tekken 7 about. _Ah, sod it..._ you thought, giving into his excited grin as kicking some virtual ass did sound like a much better idea anyway.

"Guess you're about to find out."

 

 

**Connors Pov**

 

Pacing in front of your complex, Connor was flicking through the text messages that you had sent him over the weekend, trying to muster up the courage to go up and see you. Mary had called and given him a, _colourful_ , but convincing lecture about how if he really liked you he should man up and go and talk to you about whatever it was, and of course, she was right. He did like you, **a lot** , but he had gone one step too far in trying to show you how much. Expressing his emotions had always been difficult for him, and the way you made him feel was stepping on new territory, so he had allowed himself to merely follow carnal instinct.

Maybe he had overreacted about the whole thing? From what he could tell, other than the slightly pained face you had made when he hugged you, you hadn't seemed bothered by it; but that didn't change the fact that he was, and he would **definitely** make sure something like that didn't happen again. Taking a deep breath and sliding his phone back into his pocket, he almost jogged into your apartment building and up the stairs, bounding up them two at a time with new found determination.

He slowed down when he got to your floor, almost shuffling his way to the end of the corridor as his confidence began to wane. Hesitantly raising his arm to knock before he changed his mind, he instantly regretted it just as his knuckles connected with the wood, when a high pitched laughing and squealing came from inside.

_"Desmond let me up! Ten minutes I've been on my back now!"_

His stomach twisted in knots and his heart sank as the sounds abruptly stopped, anger welling inside him for letting himself get his hopes up that there was something special between you. He'd seen the way that Desmond had looked at you the other night, and like a fool, when he asked who you were all he could say was that you were a friend from camp and, he was giving you a ride. Why he had said that he had no idea, but it was blatantly obvious he had missed the chance rectify that mistake now. Thinking he had scared you off for good and into the arms of another man, he spun around on the spot and had managed to get halfway down the corridor by the time you opened your door, ignoring your calling of his name and continuing on so you couldn't see the pained look on his face.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Come Friday, you still had no idea where you stood with Connor, and as you were supposedly training with him this evening, you thought you might have heard _something_ by now, even if it was work related. You were so engrossed in your own little world, and chewing on the end of your pen that you didn't even hear Desmond come up behind you, jumping in your seat when he tapped you on the shoulder with a snigger.

"Earth to (name), come in (name)! Still with us?"

"Yeah, sorry, was just thinking about something. What's up?"

Spinning around in your chair, so you were facing him when he plonked himself on the edge of your desk, you carried on fiddling with your pen as he just sat there thoughtfully, scratching his chin as if he were deliberating something but was hesitant in revealing what it was.

"Would you like to go to dinner tonight?"

 _Crap._ You had been hoping that this wouldn't happen. You had been careful to make sure that all of your interactions were platonic; so you didn't lead him on, as even though it seemed that Connor wasn't interested anymore, you still held onto a glimmer of optimism that you could at least talk to him later and find out exactly where you stood. _If_ he showed up that is.

"Um, that's really sweet of you to ask, but I'm, kinda seeing someone?"

"Connor?" He mused as you nodded softly. "Wow, okay. I did wonder at the start, but when I hadn't seen the two of you together, I figured you were just mates like he said. Ah well, lucky bastard. Still good to come over and kick your ass again next week?"

Playfully scowling when he belted out a laugh and punched you in the shoulder as he got up and left, you let out a downhearted sigh and lent forward, banging your head on the desk as that little conversation had just confirmed what you had been wondering all week. 

 

Standing outside the assassins training/rec facility that Mary had told you to attend tonight, you scowled when you looked at your watch and saw that Connor was twenty minutes late. You were getting pissed now, it was one thing giving you the silent treatment all week, but now he was messing with your work, and that was **not** something you were going to stand for. Giving up waiting you ventured in alone, hoping that you could at least get something productive done, even if it was by yourself. As it was after hours, the only person that you saw was at the reception desk, and she just waved you through dismissively after glancing at her computer briefly, pointing you in the general direction of the locker rooms before you could even ask where they were.

Getting changed into a t-shirt and leggings after deciding it was multi-functional; as you had zero idea of what you were supposed to be doing this evening, smirking when the firing range had piqued your interest. You had been shown how to handle a gun and taught range rules at camp, but you had never actually fired one, so it was about time you had a go if field ops was where you wanted to end up.

Collecting a firearm, magazine and glasses from the counter, you stood behind the one other person who was in here just finishing up, taking notes of his technique before scurrying down to the very end bay when he packed up, before he caught you looking. Pushing the button so your target went to the back of the range while you put on your ear and eye protection, you took a deep breath and recited the steps out loud to yourself; so you didn't miss a thing, really wishing someone was here to guide you as you slid the chamber back and took aim.

Scowling when you pulled the trigger, and you had _completely_ missed your mark; hitting the back wall a foot away from it, you gritted your teeth and readied yourself once again, almost whispering at the bullets to be kind to you. You were on the verge of throwing a strop by the time you had emptied the magazine, as it was painfully apparent that guns were not your strong suit, placing the pistol and gear back in the tray before scrutinising the single hole on the edge of the paper as you pulled it back in.

"You close your eyes just after you shoot, that is why you miss."

You didn't even bother turning around when a quiet voice came from behind you as you were far too riled up to face _anyone_ at this moment, least of all the man who had run out on you and left you in emotional limbo.

"Yeah, well it would have been nice to have someone here to let me know that **while** I was doing it." You spat. "One out of fifteen, great start."

"I am sorry, I-I got caught up. Do you still wish to continue?"

Scrunching up the sheet into the smallest ball you could, you tossed it into the wastepaper basket grumpily before grabbing the tray so you could take it back with every intention of ignoring him, but your heart skipped a beat when you finally turned around and saw him dressed in a t-shirt and sweats and, slumped against the wall, swallowing hard at his saddened expression.

"Might as well, while we're here," you tried to air confidently, but your voice had decided to betray you and follow your treacherous body; which was starting to feel warmer as your gaze roamed over him, only coming out as a faint whisper. "What was I supposed to be doing?"

Dropping off the equipment back at the counter, you followed Connor down the long corridor to the side of it; shuddering when he lay his hand on the small of your back to lead the way, very confused when you went through the only door at the end and it was reminiscent of a parkour setup mixed in with a laser tag arena, minus the neon lights although it was still poorly lit.

"Assassination was the first thing on the itinerary. Wait here for thirty seconds, then try to find me."

You didn't have the chance to ask any anything before he went behind a partition and disappeared from sight, snapping your mouth shut and leaving you with nothing but a bunch of questions, and to count to thirty in your head. When the time was up you knew the first thing you had to do was to gain your bearings, so you scaled the nearby climbing wall and carefully made your way across a narrow platform, your eyes widening as you took in most of the structure. 

It was like a bloody labyrinth.

How you were going to find him in _this_ , you had no idea. At least in the forest, you had distinct trees or rock formations to use to navigate your way, but wherever you looked here, it was all the same. Keeping the high ground, you manoeuvred your way through the maze; working up a sweat climbing the obstacles, with the corner of your mouth twitching up when you already spied movement to your right. By the time you had crept over to his location, he was gone, forcing you to climb higher to find where he was again. Three more times you had seen and lost him, and at this point, it was becoming nothing short of exasperating as you dropped down to ground level.

Fiddling with your bracer irritably while you tried to map out the place in your head, you groaned and slapped the wall when you pieced together where you had been and where you had caught sight of him; he was wandering around in a figure of eight pattern. Creeping behind some padded ducting, you crouched down and tucked yourself in the corner, waiting for him to come to you this time as if he carried on the same path, he would be in front of you in a matter of minutes.

Low and behold after less than one, you heard almost undetectable footsteps heading your way, straining your ears and holding your breath to keep him on your radar. But that didn't matter as only a few seconds later he passed in front of you, leaping out from your hiding spot to catch him before he moved too far away. What you didn't anticipate however was how fast his reaction times were, when he spun around as soon as you revealed yourself, blocking your mid-air attack and spiralling you about. Before you could hit the floor, he wrapped his arms around you and twisted to cushion you from the blow, so he landed with his back on the ground, with your own pressed up against his chest.

Your initial thought was of cursing yourself for failing at a task yet again tonight, but that was soon replaced when reality kicked in, and you could feel his hot breath against your cheek. His grip loosened around you enough so you could get up if you wanted, but you made no move to, instead staring at the ceiling and taking the opportunity to find out what the hell was going on between the two of you.

"Are you going to tell me what I did to make you run off like that?"

Letting yourself relax so the dead weight it made it even harder for him to roll you off; not that it would make any difference mind, but he at least took the hint and stopped trying after only one attempt, sighing against you as he let his arms drop down to his sides.

"You did not do anything. It is what I did..." He murmured, turning his head away when you tried to look at him.

Now even more perplexed as he trailed off and tried to get up again, it pushed you to elbow him in the gut as you were **not** letting him up without an explanation, even if you had to beat it out of him. You cast a downwards glance when he slid his hand up your t-shirt and hooked his thumb around the waistband of your leggings, pushing them down enough to reveal your hip and, the now faded, yellowing marks that he had made on you.

" **That** is why! Please let me up before I hurt you again."

 _That's it?!_ All of this because of a few bruises?? Sliding off and getting up to standing, you were just about to give him an earful when everywhere plunged into darkness, feeling about and grabbing hold of his shirt so he could lead the way out.

"It looks like we were not mindful of the time. I will take you home, no doubt you are eager to get back to Desmond."

Thinking it was a good job that the lights were out as the scowl on your face was severe enough to literally kill someone, you forced your expression back to neutral as you made it to the exit, squinting as your vision adjusted to the brightness.

"I will wait for you at the car." 

You grumbled under your breath and stomped into the locker room to fetch your things when he just walked off, not even bothering to get changed as the receptionist had been tapping her foot impatiently waiting for you to get out so she could lock up. Not wanting to get on her bad side on your first time here, you hauled ass out the door, and jumped into Connors car without saying a word.

"You coming in?" You blurted when he pulled up outside your building, crossing your arms in stubbornness when he lowered his head and shook it softly.

"Okay, let me rephrase. You're coming in. Now."

Climbing out and pretty much dragging him the same way he had done to you on the way home, you pushed him down to sit on your sofa when you got into your apartment before doing up all three locks on your door, giving him no chance to run again.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up quick, and then we're going to talk. Understand?" 

Biting back a smirk as he mumbled 'yes' and his eyes widened at seeing this new side to you, you hurriedly peeled off your clothes when you got to your bathroom, taking the quickest shower known to man. Surprisingly, he was still sat in the exact same space you had left him in by the time you had reemerged feeling slightly more refreshed, and calmer, opting to only wear a white cotton dressing gown instead of getting dressed again. Sitting down next to him, you pried his hands apart; that were clutching so tightly they were on the verge of cutting off circulation, and entwined one of yours in his, using your free hand to cup his chin and turn him to face you, brushing your thumb over his cheek when his expression reminded you of a scolded puppy.

"Firstly, whatever you know, or think you know about Desmond and me, you're wrong."

"But-"

You cut him off by moving your thumb over his lips and pressing firmly, giving him a hardened stare in a silent warning to just listen, hoping you could get through to him.

"You're wrong. We're friends, nothing more, and I even told him as much because I already found someone who I want to be with. As for hurting me? Yes, I have a few bruises and felt a bit sore afterwards, but I really liked it. I wanted it. Maybe not that rough _every time_ , but if it were too much I would have said. I would never lie to you."

Dropping your thumb now that you had finished, a warm smile crept up your face when he let go of your hand and snaked his arms around you, pulling you sideways into his lap and allowing you curl into his chest while he trailed his fingers up and down your arm.

"I have been in many dangerous situations in my life, but none of them worried me as much at the thought of causing you pain. I am sorry I did not handle it very well."

"Just talk to me okay? I won't bite. Well, maybe not, I can't make any promises." You grinned, trying not to burst out laughing when you looked up and he was at a loss for words, instead, lowering his head and kissing you softly.

A quiet whimper formed at the back of your throat when he tightened his embrace and deepened the kiss; his tongue brushing against your lips as you parted them, but you became vaguely aware that he wasn't actually touching you and you could feel him trembling as he held himself back from doing so.

"Will you let me try something?" You breathed, nudging your nose with his to get him to open his eyes.

Shuffling yourself around, so you were laying on his chest when he looked at you quizzically, you rested your head on his shoulder and very slowly pulled the tie to your dressing gown, parting the fabric before taking his hands to lay them on your stomach. His breath hitched in your ear as you guided his hands to caress your body gently, one gliding up your side to cup and squeeze your breast, making his palm run over your already hardened nipple, the other lower, curling his fingers so his nails grazed over the top of your thigh.

You hummed delightedly when he took the initiative and stroked over your mound, massaging your lips before sliding his middle finger through your crease and barely brushing over your clit, immediately making you wriggle about on his lap for harsher touch. Goosebumps erupted all over you as your writhing made him lowly groan against your neck, trailing little lip bites wherever he could reach as you pressed his finger inside you, coating it in your arousal before drawing it back up and making him circle your aching nub.

Your other hand dropped from his as you basked in his delicate strokes, moaning softly and arching your back so you could slip it between you and palm the hardness that was pressing against the small of your back, his whimpers as you squeezed making the deeply seeded warmth inside you grow rapidly. When your legs started to tense, he slowed in his movements, not enough so the pleasure died down but keeping you close to the edge, nudging you with his chin to get what was left of your attention.

"Turn around. Please, I want to see you."

With his help, you managed to shift about so you were now facing him and straddling his legs, biting your lip coyly as his gaze roamed over you, relishing in every sweet gasp and elated twitch that you did as his hand continued to dance over your slit You held his gaze for as long as you could until your climax burst inside of you, closing your eyes and your nails digging into his arms with cascading squeals before slumping forwards, and resting your head on his as you tried to slow your panting. Looking up through your eyelashes after a few moments, a wide grin spread over your face as he looked amazed at getting to watch you orgasm for the first time, pecking little kisses over his cheeks and lips as you grasped the bottom of his shirt, pulling it over his head.

Now that you weren't in a rush and not stopped from touching him, you lay your hands on his chest and trailed them down his torso, tracing and taking in every defined curve, barely marred apart from one or two light scars. When you got to his sides, you shuffled back so your feet could reach the ground, curling your fingers around the top of his sweats and boxers in one go and sliding them down his legs as you went. You licked your lips when his cock sprang free and bobbed heavily against his stomach, unable to resist the urge to lean forward and kitten lick the dribble of pre-cum from the underside of his head, which made you giggle when he gasped loudly and gave you a look that was positively begging for more.

"Next time," you sniggered, giving him a quick, teasing suck for good measure.

When he was finally free of his bottoms, you shrugged your shoulders so your dressing gown dropped to the floor, stumbling forward when he pretty much dragged you back to sitting over him and gave you a bruising kiss, but he wrapped his arms around you carefully, in complete contrast with his lips.

"Someones a bit eager to have their cock deep inside me."

You grinned when a hint of pink crept up his cheeks at your comment, making a mental note to encourage him in 'dirty talk' as you lifted on your knees and slid your hand between you, rubbing his tip through your folds before lining him up with your entrance, so he was just poking inside you. Your eyes rolled back as you slowly sank down on him, savouring in the stretching ache that was definitely becoming addictive and made you shudder. He smoothed his hands down your thighs and up again as he lolled his head back and sighed now you were fully seated on him, his fingers massaging their way to your rear and tugging on you to get you to move.

Noticing he kept taking sly little looks down from your face as you began rocking your hips, you held onto his shoulders and leant back so he could see better, gasping when the new angle made him push up even deeper inside you and drag against the perfect spot just right. Although it seemed that he was _very_ much enjoying watching himself disappear inside you, he wasn't content with you being so far away, sitting more upright and pulling you in with desperate need so your breasts were almost crushed against him, capturing your lips in a slow, hungry kiss that made your panting heavier and the pleasurable coil growing in your core even stronger.

He mumbled, beautiful, over and over again as he kissed over your chest and up your neck when you moved faster, your unrestrained and obscene moans filling the room as the second climax burning within you grew quicker than expected. His arm moved around your waist to help you keep up the pace when you were struggling to keep it up yourself, quivering and breathing heavily against each other as the pent-up tension from the past week grew to an almost explosive pitch. You nearly screamed when your orgasm ripped through you so strongly you felt it all the way from your head to your toes, your entire body going rigid as you clashed your mouth against his in a flurry of teeth and tongues, that got messier as your climax triggered his, hot and strong inside you.

You fell forward when he collapsed back onto the sofa, your breathing evening out as you snuggled up to his shoulder with a tired yawn, followed by a soft smile as he stroked his fingers down your back.

"Mmm, that was good. And see? No bruises. You can be a big 'ol teddy bear when you want to be."

"Teddy bear?"

Glancing up, you struggled to hold back a snort of laughter as he just stared at you blankly with an eyebrow raised, then tried to look affronted, but failed miserably and joined in with your snickering.

"Yep, teddy bear. Think I'll call you that from now on." You sighed, closing your eyes and shuffling about when your legs began to cramp up and ache.

"I hope not in front of other people. In exchange, I shall call you... my girlfriend?"

Your eyes snapped open as quickly as they had shut when he tilted your chin up and gazed at you hopefully, squealing at a pitch that only bats could possibly hear and kissing him as much as you could through your beaming grin.

"On one condition though. Next time we use a bed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta dahhhh! As promised I have carried on with this one! It's a shorter chapter than before, but as this is now gonna be a full-blown fic and not just a 'one shot' its easier to manage this way :) As a couple of you already know, it is now a prequel to Deception! XD
> 
> Thank you all for patiently waiting for my slow ass to get this done, it means the world ❤

Stretching out sightly and yawning when you awoke, a smile tugged at your lips when you could feel an indescribable heat at your back, something you had missed rising to over the past several days. Carefully turning around, so you didn't wake him, you gently kissed the tip of Connors' nose, smiling to yourself when he didn't even flinch. As he didn't get back from his last mission until stupidly late last night, you figured you would let him sleep in a little while longer and made a move to get up, until you felt a twitching up against the top of your thigh. Thinking it was just his hand as he had a habit of burying himself under the duvet as if he were hibernating, you slowly shuffled yourself to the edge of the bed so you could roll out without disturbing him, stopping in your tracks when you spotted both his arms smooshed under the pillow.

Gingerly lifting the covers and peeking down, you smirked and licked your lips hungrily at the sight of his 'morning glory', wondering if you could get away with it without him rousing this time. As you were already on the edge of the mattress, you had plenty of manoeuvrability to slide down without nudging him, stopping when your face was just level with his groin. Tentatively sticking your tongue out and lightly licking just under the head, you paused for a moment to wait for any sign of a reaction; but there was nothing, the only movement coming from his chest rhythmically rising and falling. So now you were sure he was out for the count you carried on, taking him into your mouth and gently suckling on his tip. You let out a small hum of satisfaction when you took him further to nearly the back of your throat, as he always felt so heavy against your cheek, and your clit was already starting to tingle as he pulsed against your tongue. 

You could hear his breath picking up slightly when you set a steady rhythm, curling your hand around his base to hold him steady as you swirled your tongue around his head and over the groove before plunging back down, your stealthiness beginning to wane as he leaked against your lips, which you lapped up greedily. Freezing in your movements when you heard a very aroused, but sleepy groan and a hand slithered down to the back of your head; grabbing a fistful of hair, you huffed through your nose at your failure yet again and braced yourself as you knew full well what was going to happen next. Not that you minded, you actually loved it, but it would be nice to finish what you started once in a while. As predicted you were stopped in your ministrations by being vigorously pulled up from under the duvet, but what happened next was something entirely new.

Usually, he would have swapped places, burying his head between your thighs until you were squealing loud enough to wake the neighbours, but apparently he had something else in mind, flipping you assertively onto your back and pinning your arms above your head, spreading your legs as far as they would go with his knees. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head, and a filthy moan escaped you when he drove into you in one swift motion, burying his head in your shoulder and latching onto your neck. The pace he set was brutal and could have hurt if you hadn't been used to it, but after several months and a lot of convincing, he finally believed that you would tell him if it were too much, but of course, you'd never had to. Neither of you noticed the harsh banging coming from next door on the wall above your heads; most likely because the din coming from your bedroom was borderline pornographic, far too busy satisfying the sensual bond between you that only proved to get stronger the longer you were together. Which was nearly a year, and your heart still raced every time you saw him, much like it was doing now.

Your clit was being crushed on his every in stroke, giving it the punishment it needed which had you wriggling and writhing in ecstasy underneath him within a matter of minutes. Twisting your head when you felt him let go of your neck, you opened your eyes dreamily to see he was gazing down on you still looking half asleep, but also with that expression; the one you could never describe, other than comparing it to how you would imagine a wolf would look protecting its mate. God, you'd missed that face. Throwing your head back when a fresh wave of pre-orgasmic bliss rolled from your head to your toes, you only just managed to choke down enough air when he grasped your wrists in just one hand, lifting slightly and snaking the other between you, his fingers sliding over your nub in perfect harmony with his thrusts. He knew that would be the tipping point for you, when no sooner had the rough pad of his finger hit the right spot you cried out and your back spasmed into an arch, trembling against him as your orgasm ripped through you so strong you could barely see straight. He followed you a few seconds later, growling lowly against your cheek as his hips jarred, almost collapsing on top you as his tired breathing puffed in your ear. You grasped hold of his shoulders when he finally let your arms go, holding tightly as he rolled onto his side and then to his back so that you were on top of him, snuggling into his chest as he lazily trailed his fingers down your spine.

"No fair, you always spoil my breakfast in bed," you mumbled against his pec, propping yourself up to face him when you could feel him vibrating with a chuckle beneath you.

"You should take it as a compliment. If it did not feel good, then I would not have woken up. Was twice last night not enough for you?"

Flashing him a cheeky grin and shuffling up as much as you could manage through the sheets twisted around your legs, you kissed him gently before playfully booping him on the nose, which earnt you a lovely tap on the ass.

"I can never get enough of you. Besides, we've got nearly a week to make up for. What time is it?"

Diving out of bed the second he lifted his arm to show you his watch, you nearly wrenched the door to the bathroom off and turned on the shower, before rummaging through one of the boxes that were stacked up in the living room.

"Why are you rushing about? And I thought you said you were going to finish those while I was away?"

Looking up from your fumblings and, biting your lip when you saw he was leaning against the doorframe still naked and rubbing his face to try and get rid of the lingering traces of sleep ( _very_ tempted to just jump back in bed and spend the whole day there) you managed to tear your eyes away when you found a pair of jeans and a top, chucking them on the sofa before heading back to the bathroom.

"Firearms test remember, I booked it in ages ago. You know how I feel about unpacking, I'll get around to it. Eventually."

"It has been four months since you moved in, I think you have hit the threshold for living out of a box now."

Poking your head around the shower curtain when you heard him plod into the room, you couldn't resist leaning out to pinch his backside when you saw he was stood with his back to you at the wash basin, but it seemed you were not as quick as you thought you were. He caught your hand quickly as you were mere inches away, using your arm to push you into the shower again; with him now joining you, and press your back against the cold tiles.

"You're gonna make me late," you whispered, wrapping your arms and legs around him when he slid you up, and you could feel him poking against your folds.

"I can drive you."

 

 

Jumping out of the car and leaving the door wide open as you sprinted towards the training centre, you skidded and crashed into the front desk when you didn't manage to stop in time, much to the annoyance of the receptionist.

"The...firearms...instructor. Is. He... here?" You panted, looking over towards the range when she made a shooing motion in that direction.

Taking a second to catch your breath and compose yourself before going in, you patted yourself down when you felt a vibration coming from somewhere, a cheesy grin spreading over your face when you located your cell in your coat pocket and, quickly read what was lit up on the screen.

**You will do it. I love you X**

Not having time to reply as you had literally thirty seconds to get to the firing range, you stuffed your phone back into your jacket and pace walked down the long, dim corridor, slowing down when you came to a person at the end, face hidden by a baseball cap and crouched down, rummaging about in a large holdall.

"Excuse me, are you my instruc...Edward?! What are you doing here??"

"Alright there lass! It's Sir today," he grinned. "Pulled a few strings, hope you've been practising?"

You now felt slightly more at ease that it was someone you knew that was testing you; giving him a thumbs up as he removed his cap and ruffled his hair back into its usual shaggy state, but that also meant anything less than perfection, and you would probably be relentlessly mocked for at least the next month or so. Taking off your coat and dropping it down on the bench behind you as Eddie stood up with a clipboard and stopwatch, you took a deep breath and put on the goggles that were already set out for you and, slid the magazine into the pistol.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

 

Kicking the door shut to your apartment and walking in with your shoulders slumped, you ignored Connors calling out from the bedroom and dropped down on the sofa, rubbing your face vigorously before tossing your keys on the coffee table.

"(Name)? Oh no, you did not pass? You will do it next time."

He sat down next to you and wrapped his arm around you gently, rubbing your hair to console you; utterly oblivious to the smirk creeping up your cheeks and, the sliding of your hand in your coat pocket to tug out your phone. Quickly tapping on the screen a few times, you brought up an email that had been sent to Desmond but had you copied into also, and bounced on your seat as you wafted it in his face.

"I passed! I hate the wretched things, but at least I can carry one now. Slightly less conspicuous than a bow."

"That was mean. You should have become an actress, rather than joining the assassins."

Mock laughing and nudging him with your shoulder as you placed your phone down next to your keys, your eyebrow raised when you spotted empty, tied up boxes propped up on the wall next to the front door, right next to two suitcases ready for your upcoming trip.

"Aww you didn't have to, I said I would get around to it! What time are we going?"

"I was fed up of tripping over them. If we leave now we can make it for dinner, is that alright?"

Cupping his face in your hands and giving him a big kiss in thanks, you nodded and jumped up off the sofa to pick up your bag, hoping that he hadn't skimped on packing everything that you needed.

"Feels a little light..." You grumbled, easily carrying his bag too in your other hand while he got the door.

"It is camp, not a vacation. Besides, I have everything we need already there. If you would like to stay with me instead of at the barracks?"

Bobbing your head to and fro when he gave you those cute, hopeful puppy dog eyes, you considered it while waiting for the lift, wondering if it was worth the risk. The rules explicitly stated that the camp wasn't co-ed; which was why Mary also stayed in the dorms, and some of the mentors were sticklers for regulations, but this was the 21st century, right? You were surprised he even suggested it as he was one of the people who always followed orders, but you figured that your slightly rebellious side had eventually rubbed off on him.

"Ratonhnhaké:ton, are you actually suggesting that we creep around behind the other mentor's backs? Naughty," you grinned, tossing the bags in the back of his car. "We'll sort something okay? I'll ask Mary, I'm sure she can give me a few pointers on sneaking off."

"Good idea." 

Leaning into his palm briefly when he cupped your cheek and stroked over it with his thumb, you jumped into the passenger seat and promptly began fiddling with the radio, humming to yourself lightly as you sat back, thinking camp definitely wasn't going to be as daunting this year.

 

As promised, you behaved yourself on the drive down; given what happened last time and figuring that the sheriff would be keeping his eye out, so you made it there without a hitch, inhaling deeply as the smell of fresh cut wood and bbq wafted around your nostrils. You stayed close to Connor when you got out of the car and headed towards the barracks, as the other students wouldn't be here tomorrow and only the mentors were here, so you felt slightly, intimidated, if that was the word for it, even though you knew about half of them on a personal level. Still, you hoped it would give you the opportunity to at least get some insight on what was planned for this time around, and maybe even dip your toe into the world of the brotherhood, and not just watching it from behind a computer screen.

"Oi fish! I hear congrats are in order?"

Exaggerating a bow when Mary jumped up from the bench as you got closer to the group of chattering assassins, you took the bottle of beer she handed out to you and had a small sip, completely ignoring Edward, who was obviously mocking Mary behind her back.

"She only passed by the skin of her teeth, needs to work on her aim."

"Says you who took four goes to do it! Now shut your mouth Kenway, before I stick my foot where the sun don't shine," Mary jeered, slapping his leg for good measure. "So how's life treating ya? Not seen you in months."

Sitting down on the bench next to Connor; who was already engrossed in conversation with Jacob Frye about his new brass knuckles, you shrugged your shoulders and bit your lip so you wouldn't laugh at Edwards now rather surly expression, shifting to face Mary when she dropped down beside you.

"Not bad. Connor finished unpacking the rest of my things so I guess I'm fully moved in now, and work is well, you know, work."

"Ya not like it in surveillance? From what I've heard you're their star tracker?"

It was now blatantly obvious that even though he was still chattering away with Jacob, Connor was eavesdropping on your conversation; when you felt his hand slither behind you and rub the small of your back, as it was the topic of discussion that you'd had together several times now, with conflicting views on the matter. He was happy that you were sat behind a desk and not travelling to god knows where for an indeterminate amount of time, but you? Not as much.

"I love my job, I really do. But I just wish that once in a while it was a little more exciting? I didn't join the assassins to let my brain cells wither away by staring at a screen all day, and sometimes I struggle to see how I'm making a difference in the world."

Drumming your fingers lightly on the bench as she sat there looking thoughtful for a moment, your eyebrows raised when she suddenly got up and stared off into the distance, patting you on the shoulder briefly before taking a step towards the other mentors grouped up near the bonfire.

"Careful what ya wish for, fish."


	4. Chapter 4

Sitting there wide-eyed as Mary waved over for Edward to join her, a million and one things tumbled through your brain trying to figure out what she meant by _that_ , but nothing feasible came to mind. So instead, you cocked your head and squinted your eyes, trying your damned hardest to lip read Edward; who was the only one without their back to you, but you had little avail.

"Are you alright? What did Mary say to you?"

"Hmm?" You mumbled, finally noticing Connor tapping you on the arm to get your attention. "Oh, yeah, you know what she's like, just her usual cryptic suggestions. Back in a minute, gonna try and drag her off to find out if we can do something about our 'sleeping arrangements'."

You flashed him a beaming grin when he smirked at your air quotes and nodded, hesitantly walking over to the group and trying not to wring your hands together when everyone quickly clammed up once you got into earshot, making you wonder what the hell was going on around here.

"Ah, you're our dear Connors partner, aren't you?" Evie blurted out, eyes narrowing in scrutiny as she looked you up and down. "I hope you don't think because of that, you will be getting special treatment while you are here."

Halting in your nodding and standing there completely shocked at her comment, you could feel your heart now pounding in your chest when anger started to well up inside you, as mentor or not, you didn't appreciate being spoken to like that. Even so, the last thing you wanted was to rub anyone the wrong way, so you gritted your teeth and smiled sweetly, clenching your fists so hard behind your back, you might have been drawing blood as you spoke.

"Of course not, Miss Frye. I don't need anyone's help, or favours for that matter. If anything I'd hope you go hard on me, see how far I can push myself."

"Still got that stick stuck up your ass Evie? Just because Jacobs pissed you off, no need to take it out on the lass here."

Feeling marginally less annoyed now that Evie looked somewhat impressed that you'd stuck up for yourself, you let Edward lead you away by pulling on your elbow, with Mary following close behind.

"Did I do something wrong?" You eventually blurted when you were far enough away, rubbing the sore points on your palm.

"Nah, she's always like that, don't let it get to ya fish. What did you come over for? Something up?"

You scuffed your heel in the dirt when Mary put her hands on her hips in waiting for an answer, hoping it would buy you a few seconds to decide whether to ask her about not staying in the barracks, coming to the conclusion that you shouldn't given at what just happened, as you didn't want to draw any more attention to yourself, good or bad.

"Just wondered what you were doing, trying to get Mr Frye to talk about something other than weapons is like trying to part the Red Sea."

Grinning as both of your friends chuckled in agreement and shrugged their shoulders, you turned around when you could feel that someone was staring at you, giving Connor a subtle shake of your head when you instinctively knew what he was thinking, now feeling about as downheartened as he looked.

"Suppose I'll leave you to it, I should get some food before hitting the hay. Guessing we'll be up at stupid o'clock?"

You grimaced when Mary gave you a thumbs up and dragged Edward back to the horde; who Connor and Jacob had joined and were no doubt conjuring up some evil first day given the looks on their faces, leaving you pretty much by yourself. Half expecting this anyway, you grabbed something to eat with a hard sigh before fetching your bag from the car, and headed to the barracks a lot less excited than you were an hour ago.

 

 

Opening your eye a slither and groaning the next morning when a loud blaring reverberated in your ear, you smacked Marys hand away when you saw she had a rolled up piece of paper, and was blowing a rather lousy rendition of Reveille in your face.

"Tell me again why we're friends?" You grumbled into your pillow, kicking away the blanket as you knew she wasn't going to let up until you did.

"Think it's something to do with my charming personality. Why'd ya disappear last night? Went to come find ya, but Connor said to leave you be."

Dragging yourself out of bed and getting dressed into the gear that had been left in a pile on your bedside table; red sash included this time, you smirked to yourself at Connor knowing that you would want to be alone while you were in such a crappy mood, hoping you'd get a chance to catch, and thank him for it later. You shrugged your shoulders as you didn't _actually_ know what the specific reason was for your lack of enthusiasm at the moment, but of course, Mary was having none of it, giving you an evil glare while she pushed you outside.

"Well if ya not gonna tell me, just look at this. Fresh, wet behind the ears newbies polling off that bus as we speak. Time for some fun!"

You couldn't help but grin when she rubbed her hands together and cackled evilly at the group that were huddled together; which was a lot smaller than last year you'd noticed, but your moment of uplifting was soon destroyed, when you saw it was Jack that was driving the bus.

"Why is he here again?! I thought we only did this twice??"

"Hmm. As ya probably figured he ain't exactly a people person, so Jacob told him to come back so they could work on it. Like a pet project I suppose, but just think of it like he's been held back a year in school."

Unintentionally snorting in irritated amusement and waving mockingly when Jack looked over and saw you stood with Mary, you at least saw the bright side as you would hopefully get to show him up again, and headed to where Master Auditore was shouting at everyone to come over for his welcome announcement.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention, please! I am Ezio Auditore, but you may call me mentor, or Master Auditore..."

You zoned out for the rest of his speech and let yourself have a good look at who you'd be training with this year, and to be quite frank, you weren't worried about any competition. Five you recognised from before; not including Jack, and quickly tallied up the newbies, nine nervous looking things that probably couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

"Our numbers are dwindling," Mary whispered in your ear when she saw you glancing about. "The Templars are takin' control, buying up big businesses to cover their devilry and god knows what else. Bigger estates and assets, mean more employees, and the fewer people we can trust. Most of us have been flyin' solo on missions recently."

More than shocked at this information as you didn't have the slightest inclination that things were this bad, you narrowed your eyes when you spotted Connor emerging from the mentor's barracks; to keep an eye on the other people on the run, giving you half a wave when you carried on glaring at him.

"He went down south by himself?!"

"Didn't he tell ya? Well, sure there was a good reason for it, and don't you dare say it was me that told ya. C'mon, the newbies are comin', and I don't wanna get stuck behind them."

You tried to smile at her and not look like you were chewing on a wasp as you joined everyone else and waited for the Fryes to give you the signal to go, clearing your head the best you could and, jumping into a slow jog towards the forest when a pistol blasted into the air.

This time around you kept to well ahead of the pack, barely even paying attention to the subtle markers as autopilot kicked in about ten minutes into the woods, also managing to stay well clear of Edward this time without any trouble. Glancing behind you briefly to see that you had gone further than you had thought; all out of eyesight and you could barely even hear them, you slowed right down and eventually came to a stop next to a huge redwood, slumping against it while you waited for the rest to catch up, keeping an eye out as you didn't want anyone to get lost like you did. But your minor breather was abruptly cut short, by a hand emerging from behind the tree and grabbing your forearm, dragging you a few paces out of sight into the brush.

"Are you alright? You have not seemed yourself since we arrived here."

Ignoring the somersaults that your stomach was doing as Connor pulled down his hood so you could see him face to face, you put your hands on your hips and shrugged your shoulders, making him look even more confused than he already did.

"I thought we agreed to not keep things from each other? Why didn't you tell me you went on your last assignment alone?"

"Because you would have worried for no reason? Much like you are doing now. It was a simple recon mission and did not warrant two of us going, there was no danger."

"Still should have told me," you grumbled, putting your pouting bottom lip away when he wibbled it with the tip of his finger repeatedly.

"You have a big heart. One of the reasons I love you, but you do tend to fret unnecessarily. I promise I will tell you next time. Is that everything?"

You sighed as he wove his arms around your waist and tugged at you; so you were flush up against his chest, but you didn't have a chance to reply when a loud twig snap came from behind you, making you look around quickly and your eyes crease in annoyance when you saw who was spying on you.

"Getting a few pointers? I wonder what the other mentors will think of this?"

"Jack. What is your malfunction?! Or is it just your mission to make everyone else as miserable as you are??"

Stepping away from Connors' arms and grinding your teeth as Jack stood there laughing, you tried not to snigger as all of the ways you had learnt to assassinate people over the past year rolled around in your head, settling on the idea of tying him to a tree and using him for target practice.

"I'm not miserable, in fact, this has just made my day! Maybe I should tell Miss Evie first, she hates cheaters just as much as I do."

You flicked out your hidden blade and lept towards Jack in a blind fit of rage, but thankfully Connor caught and held you back in the nick of time, his grip tightening around you to stop your flailing and doing something that you would definitely regret, no matter how much of an asshole he was.

"(Name) stop! He is not worth getting kicked out for, calm down! And you, you sneaky weasel. I heavily suggest that you close your mouth and rejoin the group, or I **will** let go of her."

Jack actually looked petrified as you continued to fight at Connors embrace and your lips curled into a snarl, backing away slowly with his hands raised until he was out of sight. You took several deep breaths to try and regain some composure now that he was gone, but you continued shaking with anger for at least several moments after, until the other runners were only a dozen or so feet away.

"Some people in this world cannot be helped, it is in their nature to be vindictive. We have done nothing wrong, so do not give him the satisfaction of letting him rile you up. You had better go, you would not want to be last now, would you?"

Connor knew appealing to your competitive side would get you out of your funk, which is why he was chuckling to himself as you fell into stride with Mary as she caught you up, completely ignoring her knowing smirk.

"Enjoy ya little pit stop, fish?"

"Not quite," you breathed, feeling better now the camp was in sight.

Before she could even ask why, you both let out a loud 'oof' when Jack suddenly barged between you and broke out into a full-blown sprint towards the end, looking back briefly just to sneer at you before basking in Mr Fryes praises for being first in the race.

"Ah, right. Want me to sort him out for ya? I know a few torture methods that won't leave any marks..."

Biting your lips together as the devil himself would have been put to shame at the way she was grinning, you considered it for a moment because it _would_ be a lovely way to get revenge without implicating yourself, but then your damned conscience kicked in, forcing you to take the moral high ground on this one.

"Nah, karma will catch up with him at some point. Did I look that bad after my first day??"

You both stared at the line of newbies as they headed towards the barracks; closely resembling a zombie horde and sounding like it too, paying a bit more attention to a pretty girl at the back, who didn't seem to look as bad as the rest of them.

"Think you looked worse, none of this lot rolled around in a ditch for several hours! Jacobs got his eye on that one. Reckon we should advertise this place as a dating camp, get a few more recruits that's for sure."

Giving her a pointed look when Edward came polling up behind her and draped his perspiring arm around her shoulders, you used her ear bashing to Eddie for 'being a sweaty gremlin' as an excuse to head off and grab some shut-eye, having a feeling that you were going to need it after spotting the itinerary posted outside the instructors dorms earlier today.

Creeping in as the others had already collapsed and, passed out through sheer exhaustion after the run, you kicked your boots off and dropped down onto your bed, feeling more mentally worn out than anything else. But a decent nights sleep was the last thing you were going to get tonight, as no sooner had you closed your eyes a deep, grizzly bear style snoring came from the bunk next to you.


	5. Chapter 5

After five days of being here with next to no sleep, zero alone time with Connor no matter how much you tried, and spending about half your time avoiding your now dubbed 'arch nemesis', you were on the verge of having a full-blown meltdown, toddler style tantrum included. Shuffling about and resting against the trunk of the tree you were currently perched on twenty or so feet in the air, you fought to keep your eyes open in the dim morning light, looking about for any signs of your target.

It didn't seem fair really, tracking and 'assassinating' newbies to see how proficient the returning lot of you had gotten in stealth, but hey, you didn't make the rules. Inching forward bit by bit on the branch when you made out a distinctive rustling from down below, you let out a heavy sigh when you leant over and saw that it was indeed your designated initiate, trying to gather up foliage from the ground to use as camouflage.

"Well, time to put you out of your misery I suppose..."

Even in your half weary state the task wasn't exactly back breaking, the only thing needing the slightest bit of concentration was remembering **not** to draw your blade. Leaping off the branch when the newbie was directly below you, you landed perfectly behind her like you had done a hundred times before and pressed the edge of your bracer against the soft spot on her neck, before spinning her around and smirking at her disgruntled expression.

"Oh, bloody hell! I've only just got out here, how did you get me so fast?!"

"You were making more noise than a dying giraffe, might wanna work on that while you're here," you chuckled, giving her a reassuring pat on the back so it didn't sound like you were having a go.

"I will, thanks. I've got sniper training next, will I see you there?"

Shaking your head as she began picking off the dead leaves that were stuck to her jacket, you were just about to ask her name so you didn't have to keep referring to her as 'the one Jacob fancies', but you were interrupted by Edward trampling through the brush and clapping his hands, then checking his watch and writing something on his clipboard.

"Not bad (name), finished first as we expected. Fancy helping Bayek set up since you're already done?"

"No problem. Gutted I wasn't allowed to bring my own bow, it's going to be strange using the camp ones again."

"Sure you'll manage..." Eddie trailed off, apparently too busy staring at the other girls' backside as she walked ahead back towards camp. You gave him a hard jab in his ribs along with a pointed look; as if to say 'what the hell' when you realised what he was doing, a little bit shocked that he was the lecherous type.

"What?! Nothing wrong with looking, lass. I'd say yours is nice too, but I like my balls attached to my body."

You gave him a wicked grin in agreement as that was probably something you would threaten to do; no doubt with Mary's blessing of course, before gazing up at the sky and picking up the pace when you saw Senu circling high above your head.

"It's good to see you again young one!" A voice boomed out from behind the cabin, leaving you spinning on the spot until you spotted Bayek emerging from behind it. "I've been looking forward to this all year, did you continue with a bow as your weapon of choice?"

"Yessir, Mister... Of Siwa...? How did you know I was here?"

Jogging over to help him with the bundle of quivers he was carrying; taking about half and setting them on the ground next to where you would be shooting from, you raised your eyebrows to your hairline as he chuckled and let out an ear-splitting whistle, lifting his arm to shoulder height. 

"Bayek is fine. Senu told me you were coming, she is my eyes, and ears from above. Were you sent to help me?"

Quickly and carefully petting Senu on the head admirably when she screeched out and gracefully landed on Bayeks arm, you gave your instructor a nod and began laying out all of the equipment exactly as you remembered it from last year, getting it all done under the meticulous watch of the majestic eagle and, moments before the other students turned up.

"Oi fish! Bit eager today are we? Wonder why?"

A soft smile crept up your face when you turned your gaze to where she was nudging her head towards, Connor giving you a subtle half-wave as he was ushering the rest of the initiates towards the range, looking very exasperated. You could tell he was missing you as much as you were him, even though he loved working here the longing in his eyes when they briefly connected with yours made that very obvious, and you selfishly felt a bit better knowing you weren't alone in feeling like that.

"Oh it's not for much longer fish, you can go back to jumpin' his bones soon," Mary chuckled lowly, pushing you to the left side when everyone started forming two lines and you gave her a puzzled look. "You've got the stench of a caged dog in heat about ya. Just concentrate on what we're here to do, time'll fly by."

You scowled for a moment when out of the corner of your eye you saw that Jack was running parallel to you in the opposite line, but you refused point blank to let him get under your skin anymore, so you turned your back completely towards him; shuffling along when the first two newbies had taken their goes and carried on talking to Mary while you waited for your turn.

"My concentration is always on what we're doing! You should know me well enough for that by now. Don't you miss Edward when you've been apart for a while?"

"Course I do, but when you've been together as long as we have ya get used to it. What we have you an I is rare. Relationships in our situation I mean, they're probably harder work than any mission we'll ever go on. You're up."

Sighing in agreement and feeling grateful that you had a friend like Mary; even though you were usually the brunt of her jokes and mocking half the time she _never_ steered you in the wrong direction, you picked up the bow now you were at the front of the queue, holding it for a moment so your fingers remembered the weight of it. More substantial than your own, perhaps by only a few grams but you could tell, the same way an experienced agent can tell the difference between a loaded and unloaded gun.

Picking up an arrow and nocking it back with an air of confidence, you took aim and let go of the string swiftly, smirking when you hit close to the outer edge of the centre target. Just as you were lining up to take your second shot, you hesitated for a moment when you felt a presence directly behind you, biting your bottom lip when very familiar hands smoothed over your shoulders and skimmed down your sides, making a pretence of moving your hips slightly before gently settling on them.

"Always such perfect form," Connor whispered in your ear.

"Mmm, well I've had a good teacher." You whispered back, flicking your eyes to the side and already mourning the loss of contact when he stepped away so you could continue.

With a renewed burst of excitement; thanks to that sneaky little gesture as fleeting as it was, you took your second attempt and sang a quiet praise when it was closer to the centre this time, swiftly grabbing your last arrow in hopes that you could catch Connor for a moment before he was too busy helping the others. But the same millisecond you let go of the string something poked hard into the back of your knee, causing it to buckle underneath you and the slender piece of wood to fly through the air, feet away from your intended target.

Your jaw muscles visibly bunched when you heard a maniacal roar start from just behind you and moved further away, causing you to spin around at the moment Jack was holding his ribs in peals of laughter. A flurry of activity started around you as you slowly stepped towards the end of the second line, your face crimson with fury and your free hand involuntarily clenching and releasing, wishing it were around Jacks' neck. You were stopped in your tracks by Bayek rushing over and grabbing your arm; his vice-like grip refusing to budge no matter how much you tried to shake him off, and him talking to you in a calm, authoritative tone, but the words simply wouldn't register. The blood raging through your veins and the gritting of your teeth was drowning it all out.

The only thing that marginally sated you, was when both Mary and Connor had finished talking to one of the newbies and found out what happened they rushed over to Jack, Connor grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and throwing him to the ground, Mary dragging him up by his shirt and screaming in his face a moment later. Your jaw was aching now from being clamped for so long, so you forced yourself to relax and wiggle it about to stop the pain, but still keeping your eyes fixated on Jack now you could make out some of the abuse being hurled his way.

"You moron! Someone could have got hurt!"

"Childish. Pathetic. No hope for you at all!"

Bayek hesitantly let go of you when he saw that you no longer looked like you were about to rush over to Jack and stick your bow right where he deserved it, allowing you to approach him in a deadly calm fashion, making everyone's expressions contort in worry.

"Why?!" You hissed as Mary turned him to face you.

"It was just a joke! Besides, if you were as good as everyone thought you were, it wouldn't matter what I did to you."

You couldn't believe that even on the verge of getting thrown out of here he was still his usual arrogant, egotistical self, your resentment of him actually turning to pity, as you wondered what could have happened to him (or what you did) to make him this way. Even so, that wasn't going to stop you from giving you a piece of your mind in front of everyone, as maybe a bit of humiliation would do him some good.

"You narcissistic, conceited, insecure pile of rat excrement. All of this because I might be better than you?!"

"I AM better than you!" He sneered, eventually twisting free of Mary's grasp and pulling himself straight.

"We're all on the same side you dick! It's not a comp-"

Before you could finish, Bayek stepped beside you and patted you on your shoulder with a scheming look on his face, replacing it with a beaming grin a few seconds later when he had apparently come up with a solution to whatever he had been plotting.

"That is what we shall do! A _friendly_ competition between the two of you, shall we say, tomorrow afternoon? I shall arrange everything so there will be no quarrel about favouritism. What do you think?"

Raising your eyebrow and quickly making your mind up at Bayeks suggestion when you saw Jack nod eagerly and shoot you a filthy look, you shrugged your shoulders dismissively as not to give the arrogant ass the satisfaction of seeing you any more riled up, yet you matched his hardened gaze while he waited for you to provide a definitive answer.

"As pathetic as this is, I accept. On one condition. _When_ I win, you have to say out loud to the entire camp, (Name) is better than me. I am just a lowly underling basking in her greatness."

Several sniggers came from the other initiates when Jacks face contorted in loathing at your ultimatum; making a grin threaten to adorn your lips, but what grasped your attention the most, was Mary **and** Connor, both looking mightily amused at this whole exchange.

"Deal. But when I win, you do my laundry for the rest of the month, smalls included."

Now the thought of _that_ made you grimace, but as you figured that you probably had the upper hand by already being good enough for 'field' work, you agreed; shaking his hand harder than was necessary when he extended it to you. Dropping it and wiping your palm on your trousers when the dinner bell echoed from the other side of the trees, you handed your bow to Bayek and grinned when he gave you a sly wink, feeling a bit more optimistic than you did a moment ago.

All through supper, you kept your ear out for any hint at what Bayek planning for you; not sitting in your usual spot and opting to eat alone on the bench closest to the mentors one, but not a thing was mentioned, other than Mary filling in Jacob and Edward on what had occurred, and it made nervousness ball in the pit of your stomach. You know Jack is good, _very_ good, especially with the Fryes taking him under their wing, but surely his overconfidence will go against him as usual, and he'll make stupid mistakes? Now you wished that you hadn't said yes, the disturbing pictures of you hand folding Jacks boxers flicking through your mind making your stomach churn.

Scraping your half-full plate into the bin, you headed to the dorms early in hopes that just for **once** this week you might be able to get a full nights kip, but to your dismay, there were already several people tucked in bed, including the sleep-depriving newbie in the bunk next to yours. But, as fortune would have it the room was completely silent, so you wasted no time marching to your bed and kicking off your boots, letting out a soft sigh as you laid back and stared at the ceiling. Closing your eyes and shuffling about to get a bit more comfortable, you winced at the creaking of the cheap bedsprings, groaning loudly and bunching the pillow around your head when the usual imitation of a jackhammer started up a foot away.


	6. Chapter 6

_"That's it!"_ You screamed against the cotton covered feathers, chucking the pillow on the floor after tossing and turning for the best part of an hour.

Sitting bolt upright in your bed while making a choking motion with your hands at the 'girl' next to you, you silently picked up your boots and hoodie and tiptoed out the door, pulling everything on as you stumbled past the eating area of the camp.

"Sod you lot and your stupid rules..." You grumbled under your breath, far too tired to even contemplate what punishment you would get for sneaking out.

Working your way through the brush; paying extra attention because it was much more overgrown than the last time you were here, you crossed your arms over your chest and huddled down to try and protect yourself from the howling winds, the weather doing nothing to help your mood in the slightest. It didn't take you as long to reach the lake as you thought it would, stopping just on the edge for a moment to reconsider scampering off, trying to decide which was worse. Getting chewed out by two, maybe three of the mentors, or spending the rest of your days in a white jacket and padded cell.

Choosing your sanity over an ear bashing, you worked your way around the lake and disappeared behind the waterfall, using the dying embers of the campfire as a guide in the darkness. You let out a soft sigh when you saw Connor fast asleep on the bedrolls, slightly surprised that he had made space for two considering that you had told him that you weren't allowed to stay with him, but that was one of the things you loved about him. Always full of hope. Toeing off your boots and shrugging off your jacket, you laid down next to Connor and pulled the blanket over you, wincing when your shuffling had made him stir.

"Hey you," you whispered when he turned on his side, and his eyes flickered open slightly.

Lifting your head when a happy smile crept up his face and he pulled you into his arms, you snuggled up to his chest and inhaled deeply; taking in his comforting scent that you had been away from for far too long, and fell asleep in his embrace within a matter of seconds.

 

Your eyes snapped open, and you just managed to stop yourself from jumping a mile when the first thing you saw was two tiny black eyes gazing down on you; about three inches from your face in fact, slowly sitting up and looking about when you realised you were alone.

"Ati:ron. Dude. While I'm chuffed that you remember me, we've gotta talk about boundaries. I'm sorry to say this, but you really do have bug breath."

A huffed squeak was what you got in return as he scampered off out of the cave and out of sight; freaking you out a little bit when for a moment you thought he understood you, but now you were in full-blown panic mode while your morning brain fog lifted, as you figured you would wake early enough to make it back to camp before anyone noticed you were gone, but it was now blatant that this was not the case. Hopping on one foot and then the other as you tried to run out and pull your boots on at the same time, you froze to the spot and shielded your eyes with your hand when you heard a faint voice through the waterfall, as the blazing sun was making the lake twinkle and sparkle brightly in your face while you tried to look for the noise came from.

"There you are," you grinned when you eventually saw Connor in the middle of the lake, swimming lazily towards you.

"Why are you rushing away? I left you to sleep; you looked very peaceful."

You had completely forgotten that you were in a rush to get back as he got closer and stood up in a shallower part of the pool, looking like a god damned adonis that made your mind and gaze wander to very lewd places, now that you could see he was skinny dipping thanks to the water barely coming up to his hips.

"Hmm? Oh. I should get back before anyone notices I've gone. You always swim in here butt naked?"

"I have not before, but today seemed like a good day for it. Which is Sunday, so there is no training and no need for you to go. You could join me instead?"

Even though his request was asked in his usual sweet, innocent tone his face instantly betrayed what he was actually thinking; as much as he tried to hide it, the slight of a smile and that primal look in his eye made you not even think twice about accepting, stripping off your clothes eagerly. When you got down to your knickers, you paused for a moment and covered your chest with your arm; looking around for signs of anyone else here, as even though this area was very secluded, you thought you'd better check, _just in case_ given what happened last time you were supposedly alone. Satisfied that there wasn't a soul about, (the two-legged kind anyway) you shimmied out of your pants and kicked them on top of the rest of your things, and dove in beside the waterfall where it was deeper.

When you resurfaced a few seconds later, you began treading water and wiped your face with the back of your hand as you looked over to where Connor had been standing, but he was gone. Floating on the spot and trying to figure out where he had disappeared to, you let out a panicked yelp when something brushed up against the back of your thigh, but you quickly stopped thrashing about when strong arms curled around you and spun you around.

"You ass, I thought you were a snake!"

You draped your arms over his shoulders and wrapped your legs around his waist as he found your little outburst somewhat amusing, chuckling at your pouting bottom lip while he stepped a few paces back to lean up against the rocks that were partly covered by shade, so the sun wasn't glaring in your face.

"There are no poisonous snakes around here. But if there were, I would keep them away. The only lips allowed on you are mine."

"Snakes don't have lips," you smirked against his mouth, giving him fleeting kisses as much as you could through your chuckles.

Of course, you knew he was metaphorical about that; it was his slightly protective streak showing, but you couldn't help but wind him up about it as he loved correcting you, which was way more often than you did to him, and it was nice to get one up on occasion. But your moment of smugness was very brief, as his plans for today _obviously_ did not include debating reptile anatomy, muffling your giggles by kissing you tenderly. You tried to savour the moment given the beautiful serenity of where you were, and that you had all morning together, but as soon as your hands ran over his wet skin and a growl rumbled in his throat at your nails dragging over his shoulders, you knew that wasn't going to happen, the insatiable need that you had been suppressing all week bubbling to the surface faster than the cascades next to you.

You threw your head back as he trailed a line of little bites across your jaw and down your neck, sliding his hands down your back and cupping your rear to lift you higher against him so he could reach the sensitive buds of your bobbing breasts, teasing each in turn with the tip of his tongue until they stood proud and aching for more. Your soft whimpers against his hair sparked his more fervent side quickly, letting you fall down his chest, so you were once again face to face, teasing you by holding his mouth millimetres from yours.

"I have missed you," he barely whispered before letting you have what you wanted.

His kiss is demanding, passionate and hungry, and you clung to him, carding your fingers through his dripping hair as you kissed him back just as desperately. He opened the gap between you just enough so he could squeeze his hand between your legs, cupping your mound and pressing his middle two fingers into your crease, using the whole length of them to massage and coax your clit to life. Slight apprehension mingled in with the dizzying pre-orgasmic waves that were building in your stomach when you could feel the water line rising up your chest, sinking slowly as his grip loosened around your waist. But when it began splashing at your chin you didn't drop any further, and Connor tore his lips away from yours with a devilish smirk, completely submerging himself in front of you.

Grabbing onto the slippery rocks for dear life when he suddenly covered your entire sex with his mouth and sucked, you hoped the roar of the fall was loud enough to cover the several expletives and elated moans that were echoing into the cave as his flattened tongue wriggled over you, having been without all week; not even from your own hand, you knew you would climax quickly. You could feel him fighting to keep your thighs apart when you began to tense up and tremble at your impending peak, and just as you wondered how he could possibly hold his breath for this long it crashed down on you like a ton of bricks, your anchorage to the side of the lake that you had barely able to maintain, faltering, but thankfully he bounded up quickly and grasped you before you went under. You had barely even recovered before he was kissing you feverishly again, hands caressing every inch of you, leaving you gasping as shivers ran down your spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water. You held onto him the best you could as he bobbed to a hidden spot behind some trailing vines and, lifted you, so you were partly lent back on the rocks; moss covering the majority of them to cushion you somewhat, wrapping one of your legs around his waist, and draping the other over his shoulder.

You bit your lip and whimpered as he gave himself a few strokes before lining himself up with your entrance, pushing forward carefully, as you were very tight and it was slightly uncomfortable because most of your climax had been washed away and, water wasn't exactly the best lubricant in the world. Even so, you weren't about to stop now, grasping hold of his arms and tugging on him to carry on when he paused after seeing you wince, giving him your best 'fuck me now' eyes in assurance that you were okay. Mini waves that tickled your skin lapped over your body as he rolled his hips slowly to start, building up speed and thrusting into you faster as much as the lake would allow when your unrestrained moans and cries travelled to his ears. Digging your fingers into his biceps as the pleasure in your lower stomach started to blossom with each drag of his cock along your walls, you snapped open your eyes and bit your lip when you were sure he mumbled the word 'fuck' underneath his breath, as you tightened and clenched around him.

Of course, as soon as your gaze landed on him; beautiful muscles flexing with every thrust and small grunts slipping through his teeth, literally working his cute ass off to make you feel good, you cried out his name and began babbling it like a prayer when the tension inside you wound so tight, you thought you might lose your mind. Only needing that little bit more to push you over the edge, you managed to pry your hand from around his arm and let it drop to your stomach, slithering a finger over your swollen clit and rubbing frantically in desperation for release. That was the tipping point for him; watching you play with yourself and the sound that left your body somewhere between a moan and a scream as your climax tore throughout you, flushing deep into you with a loud groan, and biting your leg that was still pressed against his neck. One last, weak moan left you as your body finally relaxed, not even caring that your back was stinging and probably scraped up from where your rocking had rubbed the moss away that was protecting you, the intense aftershocks of your orgasm gradually fading away.

"Well... that was... new," you breathed through fleeting pecks when he leant forward, smiling softly when he nudged your nose with his.

"A dream I regularly have since we met. I take that as you liked it then?"

Raising your eyebrow as fantasies weren't something that you had discussed together so far, you wondered if that he would be willing to delve into this more when you got home and nodded your head enthusiastically, a cheeky smirk creeping up your face when you suddenly remembered something.

"Question. Did I hear you swear a moment ago? Or was that just my imagination?"

You chuckled and laced your fingers around his neck when he pulled out of you and picked you up bridal style, carrying you to the edge of the lake and back towards his camp, very pink-faced and at a loss for words.

"I-I... Well... No?"

"Ratonhnhaké:ton, I think you're lying to me."

Biting your lips together to stop even more giggles bursting out, you pulled him down next to you when he nudged ati:ron away and lay you on the bedrolls, cuddling up to his chest and wriggling about to get comfortable against his damp skin.

"I assure you it was your imagination, I cannot think of a situation where a vulgar word like that would be appropriate. Anyway, a change of subject. We should get dried off and dressed, your mystery competition will begin soon."

Playfully narrowing your eyes as you _knew_ that it wasn't all in your head; especially when you caught him smirking out of the corner of your eye, you groaned and slapped your forehead as your blissful mood evaporated at being reminded of yours and Jacks deal, wondering if you could train the ball of fur currently scratching at your jeans how to sabotage someone in an hour.


	7. Chapter 7

Taking your damned sweet time as you headed back to the camp, you went to drop Connors' hand when you heard excited voices coming from just beyond the treeline, but to your surprise, his grip stayed firm, almost dragging you the last few feet without saying a word.

As expected, you were greeted by a few stares and not so subtle whispers when you emerged from the brush, but also quite surprised that _everyone_ had turned up to watch the show; even the people you hardly knew, such as the cooks and groundsmen were here. Slowly walking over to where Mary and Edward were busy chatting to Bayek, you tensed up, and it felt like a bowling ball had taken up residency in the pit of your stomach when you spied something set up that was apparently part of the competition. 

Clay shooting.

Now even though you weren't late, it looked like everyone had been here for a while, especially Jack, who had sat cross-legged on the grass about ten feet away from where you were; cleaning a rifle that was definitely not camp issue, and looking extremely smug at your slightly panicked expression.

"Mr Bayek? Are we using our own weapons? Because I didn't bring any with me," you mumbled quietly, grateful that Connor was still holding onto to you when Jack started laughing.

"Ah, young one. Now that you are here, we shall go over what I have planned — the challenges. The first as you have already noticed is precision shooting, best of three rounds. The second, my version of an archery contest. You may use your own equipment, or borrow someone else's for these two if you wish. The third, hand to hand combat. Weapons are strictly forbidden in this round, hidden blades included. We wouldn't want any serious injuries now would we?"

Okay. So you weren't being screwed over at least, and your apprehension was waning quickly at the prospect of kicking ass without any repercussions, a glimmer of a smile tugging at your lips even though Jack was doing his best to try and stare you out.

"Sounds good to me; let's get this show on the road."

Connor gave your hand a reassuring squeeze before eventually letting go and joining the crowd some distance away, leaving you forcing a manic grin to Mary when she handed you the best rifle the camp probably had to offer, with an exaggerated double thumbs up. After losing the coin toss; and the smug shit decided he was going first, you took a minute to have a better look at the gun you had been given, examining the sight and getting a better feel for the weight of it. It was in pretty good condition considering its age, but that didn't help you in the slightest. Because let's face it, you could have had a bloody Uzi in your hands and you'd still be at a disadvantage with the ruddy things, especially when Jack had just hit his first five targets perfectly.

Grumbling to yourself as you took up stance when it was your turn to shoot the tiny discs out of the air, you could almost _feel_ the mock radiating from Jack when you missed your first shot, your blood boiling while you lowered your weapon in signalling to Mister Bell; who was releasing the clays, that you were forfeiting this round, as it was impossible for you to win now. You were absentmindedly digging a stone out of the mud with the side of your shoe when a timid cough came from behind you, spinning around with your eyebrow raised when you saw it was the newbie you had 'assassinated' yesterday trying to get your attention.

"Um, hi. I dunno if I'm allowed to do this, but can I give you a pointer?" She whispered, nudging her head in gesturing for you to follow her a few steps away from prying eyes and ears.

You didn't care if she was allowed to or not as you stood closer to her so you could hear her mumbling under her breath, desperate for any little tidbit that she could give you that would at least stop you from making yourself look like a fool this entire match.

"You're holding the stock too tight. Even I can see that your knuckles are whiter than a polar bears butt cheek from way over there, you need to relax okay?"

Giving her a gentle smile and a quick nod when you saw that Jack was stepping away from taking his last shot out of the corner of your eye, you rushed back and forced your hand to ease up now that you realised that you had a death grip on the thing, hoping that you could match Jacks score lower score of two; thanks to the wind that had now picked up. You scowled when again, you missed the first shot, but your confidence was boosted as you took the second, and the disk exploded into tiny fragments in the distance. _You can do this... You can do this..._ You chanted to yourself after messing up the third and fourth, taking a deep breath to steady your nerves and pulling the trigger a split second later when the clay spun in the air.

Jack looked like he was about to bust a brain cell when you screamed 'Yes!' and turned around to face him after you hit your target, more than ecstatic that this round was a tie, and you still had a chance of winning it. Silently mouthing thank you to the girl who gave you the advice when you managed to catch her eye briefly in between her laughing at one of what you presumed was Jacobs terrible jokes, you blew Connor a kiss before turning back to the competition, watching intently for anything that would give you an advantage while you picked up a few shells and reloaded your rifle.

Everyone swarmed closer excitedly when the last round ended finished with you winning; four to three making the challenge a draw, hushing quickly while the instructors deliberated on who the victor should be.

"It should be the person who scored the most points! Jack got ten, (name) only got six!" Jacob piped up, waving his arms to try and get everyone to agree with him.

To your dismay, most of the other mentors agreed with him, each patting Jack on the back in turn and congratulating him in his success. Had you any idea it would come to this you wouldn't have given up on your first go, beating yourself up and vowing **never** to admit defeat ever again as you searched around for the one person who could give you some comfort, but as much as you looked, he was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Edward? Where did Connor go?"

Putting your hands on your hips when the smirk he gave you instantly told you he was up to something, you purposefully took large, heavy steps towards Mary, scoffing when his eyes widened in petrification, and he grabbed you by the arm to stop you from snitching on him.

"Grab me by the short and curlies why don't ya," he hissed. "He's gone to fetch something, said he would be back in a minute."

Satisfied he was telling the truth, you turned away so that you had your back to the Fryes; who were busy gushing over Jack, and joined Master Auditore, Mary, and a couple of the older students, your ears pricking up when you heard someone mention money.

"You're all... betting on us?!"

"Why not fish? Bit of extra fun!" Mary chuckled as she draped her arm over your shoulders and gave you a quick squeeze. "Jacob set it up, Jacks the favourite after winning that last round, but I've got faith in ya. So's Ezio, we've just doubled our bets."

You were more than gobsmacked at not only were they gambling for your success, but how your friends always stood with you (plus a mentor that you had hardly interacted with) even though the odds were against you, and it made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But your moment of joy was soon tapered when Bayek called out that it was time to start the archery portion of the competition, letting everyone walk ahead towards the forest so that you could have a moment to yourself and get your head in the game. You had just managed to push any negative thoughts out of your brain; as shooting while emotional was never a good idea, when you heard someone walking up behind you, turning around with a half smile when you saw Connor a few paces away with his hands held behind him.

"I know how much today means to you (Name), so I thought I would get you something to help. I am sorry I did not tell you where I was going, but there was no time."

You didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he revealed _his_ bow and quiver from behind his back, so you settled on squealing in excitement and throwing your arms around his waist, giving him the biggest hug you could muster and babbling thank yous against his chest. Letting go when he chuckled at your brief bouncing on the spot and he kissed the top of your head, you carefully took the longbow off him and traced your fingers over the grip, remembering how good, and how natural it felt in the **one** time he had let you use it.

"Are you sure? I know you don't like people using your weapons."

"You are not, 'people'. There is no one in this world I trust more to take care of it," He whispered, tilting your chin up and stroking your cheek with his thumb. "Let's go; they will be waiting."

Now feeling on cloud nine and almost skipping over to where everyone else had assembled next to the tree line, both you and Connor looked at each other baffled as there wasn't a thing set up in the area, no targets, nothing.

"I did say it was my version," Bayek boomed out when he heard most of the crowd whispering that he'd gone crazy and forgotten the gear. "This is a race! Jack will start here, with Jacob and Mary following, and (name) the other side, accompanied by Edward and Evie. Follow the trail, ten red targets on the way each, and you can only take ten arrows. There is a five-second penalty for any that you miss, the best time wins! Take your marks."

Standing in your designated spot and getting the quiver comfortable on your back for running with, you broke out into a sprint when Bayek started a stopwatch and shouted 'Go', immediately scaling up a fallen trunk to gain higher ground as you knew this way would be quicker and, obtain a vantage over the targets. Glancing down after leaping through a couple of trees to make sure you were on the right track, you giggle snorted to yourself when you saw that Jack had opted to stay on the ground, and had managed to get himself caught in a thicket of weeds, giving you a few extra seconds leeway to scan for your objectives. They weren't difficult to spot from where you were, but they had definitely been placed in awkward locations to ensure that there wasn't any cheating going on, and a good line of sight without taking a time costly detour wasn't going to be easy.

Propping yourself between the V of the branches and reaching behind you to remove an arrow from your quiver; taking aim at the first marker wedged in an old squirrel nest, you took a few extra seconds to familiarise yourself again with the draw of the string, exhaling slowly as you let it go and, hurrying along when you hit it just off centre. You got in your zone as you bobbed and weaved through the treetops with amazing dexterity, barely even pausing as you took down targets two, three and four, then hitting five and six on the run. You weren't even sure if Edward and Evie were keeping up with you at this point, but if they had fallen behind they now had a chance to catch you up when you got to number seven, crouching down and scowling when the marker hadn't been placed securely and was now teetering on the edge of a rock, about to fall into the bubbling stream below.

Without the luxury of time on your side, you quickly nocked back and took your shot, unsure if you even hit it when it fell at the same time straight into the water and out of sight, but that was the least of your worries at this moment, when you saw Jack running through the brush directly to your left. Eight and nine were a doddle to take down; making you wonder who the hell managed to tie them to the very tip of fragile branches, but now you had a problem. So far all of your targets had been roughly the same distance apart, but when you arrived at the expected area, you couldn't find a thing.

"Where the hell is it?!" You hissed as you lept to the next tree, becoming very irritated when after a minute you still hadn't spotted it.

You were just beginning to think that Jack had somehow managed to slip away from his entourage and sabotage you, when a bush that was rustling like crazy caught your attention, slapping your head hard when a chirruping came from it, and something zoomed out in a blaze of brown and red.

"Ati:ron! Bring that back you little cretin!"

Swinging to the ground, so you didn't lose sight of him as he hightailed it in the direction of the camp, you swerved out of the way when Jack nearly collided into your side; most likely on purpose as he was sprinting towards the finish too, cursing loudly when the racoon scampered out of view. Almost certain that Jack had done as well as you in this round; spying that he didn't have any arrows left, you couldn't afford not to get the last marker, but that meant slowing down and letting him win the race, so it was a choice of two evils. Selecting to focus on the part that you could win at this moment in time, you pushed yourself harder than you ever had done before and slowly pulled away from Jack, not daring to look behind and see how close this was actually going to be.

Breathing was getting harder by the time you emerged from the woodlands, and the finish line came into view, refusing point blank to let up even though it felt like every one of your muscles was on fire. It seemed like your prayers had been answered when around a fifty metres away you could see the crowd properly, more specifically, a very confused looking Connor who was jogging back to the group from the far side, holding something red and about the size of a frisbee.

"Throw it!" You screamed without a second thought, instantly regretting it when those two words almost used up what little energy you had left.

You had no choice, you _had_ to slow if you were going to hit that last mark, you doubted that even a super ninja spy would accomplish that at the speed you were going, so as much as it pained you to do it you eased off enough when he launched the target so you could take a 'hail mary' shot, collapsing to the floor on your hands and knees a few seconds later mere inches over the line. You were vaguely aware that everyone was whooping and cheering at was probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened around here, your gasping and wheezing drowning out anything that was being said to you. It felt like forever until you had managed to get your breath back, several hands helping pull you up to standing around the same time it didn't feel like your lungs were about to burst anymore, letting you slump against what you presumed was Connor as your vision wasn't entirely clear.

"Oi fish, that was insane!" Mary chuckled as she handed you the circular wad of spray-painted straw, impaled by your last arrow. "Never seen anyone run that fast, or make a shot like that, you got a leprechaun up ya ass or something?"

Sniggering and shrugging your shoulders now that you had calmed down, you looked up at Connor and smiled as he was beaming with pride at your efforts, wrapping his arms around you and giving you a quick squeeze before letting you turn to Bayek who was now calling out.

"Well, that was exciting! Almost too close to call! Let's see. Jack finished with a time of... Fifteen minutes, forty-seven point four seconds. (Name) finished in Fifteen minutes, forty-seven point... Nine seconds!"

_Goddamnit!_ You were fuming, absolutely seething that you lost by half a second, very tempted to hunt down and do more than call ati:ron bug breath this time, if you had the energy that was. Now it was all down to who managed to get the most targets, and thanks to Mary you knew you had gotten nine, but the other was still a mystery, making it anyone's game. Your eyes never once left Bayek as he took two slips of folded paper; one from Jacob and one from Edward, examining them quickly before stuffing them in his pocket with a neutral expression and whistling for attention.

"I have been given the tallies, Jack, you scored nine, so that's a five second penalty for you."

You weren't even sure that you wanted to carry on listening anymore, the tension becoming unbearable as he droned on that Jack had done exceptionally well blah blah blah, hoping that you could still show your face around here after such a catastrophic failure against one of your own. Forcing yourself to pay attention when Connors' hands tightened around your waist, you squealed when it was announced that you had gotten all ten and he picked you up and spun you around, full-blown laughing when he eventually put you back down.

"I did not doubt you for a second. Even Evie is impressed." 

Turning your head slightly to the side, your eyebrows raised when the older Frye twin was indeed looking at you, giving you a glimmer of a smile before turning away to resume consoling Jack, who looked like he was about to snap his bow over his knee.

"Couldn't care what she thinks, but it's nice to get a smile instead of a scowl. Come help me get ready?"

Without waiting for an answer, you plodded towards the barracks; with Mary and Edward in tow also, to get changed for the last round that for some reason, was beginning to feel like there was more to it than just a 'friendly competition'.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to KitKatCat ❤❤Happy Birthday! ❤❤

Chugging your last bit of water and tossing the empty bottle in the trash, you unzipped your jacket and threw it on your bed along with your bracer, stretching and rolling out your shoulders when they started to ache from all the climbing you'd done half hour before.

"Lass, it time. Are you ready?"

Giving Edward a thumbs up when he poked his head around the door; peeking through his fingers in a half-assed attempt to cover his eyes in case you weren't decent, you knew you were ready. Vengeance wasn't particularly something you had experienced before, but damn you were going to have fun with it today. Pausing for a moment when Connor held out two, rolled up strips of fabric in front of you, you took them off him with a shake of your head and dropped them on top of your other things, ignoring his look of disapproval.

"Are you positive you do not want to wrap your hands? What if you get injured?"

"They're too restrictive. Besides, what happens when I go out on a mission? Say, sorry Mister bad guy, can you wait a sec while I put on my gear? Might as well get used to it."

Connor slumped his shoulders and gave up trying to convince you as you strolled confidently out the door and to the mock 'ring' that had been set up for the last round, trying not to look as nervous as he felt when he stood beside the other spectators.

He would never admit it to you, but he had been worried about this part of the contest all day. Jacks fighting style was brawler; not surprising as Jacob had mentored him from the start, and he'd seen him nearly knock someone out with one punch in training not too long ago. Not to mention that he'd never seen you actually fight, only throw a few jabs and kicks in sparring, but you did have the speed advantage from what he had seen.

"Hey, loosen up before you have a stroke. She's got this."

Connor briefly flicked his eyes to his left when Mary poked him in the arm to prove just how tense he was when his muscle didn't give even a millimetre under her finger, only made worse when Bayek gave the signal to start, and Jack charged at you with a wild haymaker; which you narrowly missed by leaping out of the way.

"I do not trust Jack to have a clean fight. He has already tried to sabotage (name) once, and I believe he will try again."

Mary hummed thoughtfully before turning back to the contest and cheering along with the rest of the crowd, leaving Connor to muse about what was going on. He was confused to start, so far you hadn't even struck against Jack, only bobbing and dodging his advances without even throwing a hit yourself, but then it clicked. Not only were you pulling Jacks best moves out of him; so you knew how to counter them, but you were also starting to gas him out already. Connor began to relax, and even smile when you winked at him quickly while Jack stepped back to take a moment and catch a breather, but the anticipation of how this was going to turn out was still overwhelming him.

Now was the moment of truth as it looked like you were ready to respond to the strikes that had been thrown your way, Connor audibly gasping when you ducked down to avoid another hefty punch, but landing a hit straight on Jacks kidneys that made his face twist up in pain. Now _that_ he wasn't expecting, his eyes widening and heart swelling as you delivered blow after blow in rapid succession to Jacks midsection with deadly accuracy, making him back away again to try and regain his composure. He knew that you were focused, determined, with a drive that had impressed half the mentors, but this was something entirely different. You were a warrior. Vastly underestimated by anyone here; and shamefully that included himself, and Connor was so engrossed in the display before him that he didn't even notice that Jacob had come to his side, until he was nudged in the arm and his name was being called repeatedly. 

"Hey big guy, why didn't you tell us she was a shit hot scrapper?! Thought this would be a walk in the park for Jack. She that feisty when you're rolling around in the hay?"

Usually, Connor would have been annoyed at one of Jacobs crass remarks; especially towards you and his personal life, but he was too busy focusing on you, ignoring his jeering and watching you fight as if your life depended on it. But mostly thanks to Jacobs comment his gaze wasn't entirely centred on your attacks anymore, now pinpointed on more, _intimate_ features of your physique. He swallowed hard, and his breathing picked up as he watched your breasts bounce against your tight-fitting vest top with each jump that you did, the glistening beads of perspiration rolling down your soft skin and the fluster of your cheeks pulling his thoughts to the way you were laid before him in the lake this morning. The combination of the way you looked, and what you were doing was having an inconvenient effect on him, gritting his teeth to try and distract himself when his cock started to stir against his thigh.

It became even worse when the fight had descended to the ground and became a grappling match, forcing him to crouch down to try and conceal his now semi-hard length that would no doubt be noticeable to anyone next to him. His brow knitted as he could only think of two options of what to do right now; not really wanting to do either, but he had to choose one to save himself the embarrassment. He could turn away and not watch you in hopes that he would go down, but that didn't seem feasible as the images of you would be still fresh in his mind, plus it would also call attention to himself, or he could excuse himself briefly and relieve the tension the old fashioned way. With his erection now becoming painful in the position he was in, he slyly untucked his shirt and hoped it was enough to cover most of his arousal as he slowly got up to standing, and pace walked to the instructor's barracks a few yards away, thankful that there was a private bathroom at the back.

He'd barely even locked the door before he was fumbling with his belt and zip; now desperate to ease the pressure that the tightness of his trousers was causing, hissing through his teeth when his hand felt cold against his scorching flesh. He groaned in mild relief as he pushed his jeans down over his hips and braced his hand against the wall, gripping his pulsing cock to the point of almost cutting off circulation and began pumping furiously, not having the luxury of time on his side. He hadn't pleasured himself in some time; much more preferring your touch, be it your hand, mouth, or your wet heat siding over him in ways that drove him to peaks of ecstasy that he never thought possible, but this would have to do.

It was easy for him to imagine that it was the two of you that were tussling against each other at the centre back home; after hours of course when there was nobody about, and instead of you wearing training gear you would have on those little shorts that you had taken to wearing around the apartment that you knew drove him crazy every time you put them on. After several minutes of countering each other, your tantalizing, heavy breaths in his ear as he grasped you to try and get you to submit would cause him to _accidentally_ rip your top as you wriggled free from his embrace, making you discard it with a smirk, so it didn't hinder your next attempt at pinning him to the ground.

He was panting and barely knew what he was even doing anymore, his hand sticky from his continued leaking as he thought about you getting one up on him, scissoring your legs around his arm and over his chest to get him into an armbar, your heat close enough to his face that he could smell your arousal. He loved your smell so much. Sweet and musky, never failing to make him want to throw you down and take you there and then, ravaging you regardless of where you were or what you were doing. He would manage to slip out of your hold though due to the slickness of your bodies, twisting himself, so his head was now between your thighs, gently nipping at the sensitive skin as he worked his way up towards what he had been longing for... Connor bit the inside of his cheeks to stifle the noise when his climax unexpectedly overwhelmed him, balls tightening and spurting copious amounts of his seed over his hand which he used to prolong the dying ebbs of much needed release that his fantasy had provided.

Quickly cleaning himself up and darting back outside now that he was slightly less flustered; although still partly aroused, he was surprised that he couldn't have been gone for more than a few minutes as the fight was still in full swing, but slowing down as you were both starting to look fatigued. Connor shouted words of encouragement when your next flurry of kicks and punches caused Jack to fall and clamber to his hands and knees, giving you the opportunity to charge up so you could deliver a finishing blow. But when you were less than a few paces away, Connor spotted something in Jacks' hand after he had secretly pulled it out of his pocket while everyone was focused on you, the ray of sun that had peeked through the clouds making a brief shine from it glimmer in his face. Before he could shout out to warn you, Jack delivered an uppercut style punch to your ribs from the position he was in when you had gotten close enough, the brass knuckles he had used causing you to double over and hold your chest as you cried out in agony.

Connor went to leap over the partition in a blind fit of rage and strangle the cheating bastard until he was blue in the face, but stopped himself as he caught your eye when you turned to him, gently shaking your head in a warning for him not to interfere. Apparently, the rest of the camp was utterly oblivious to what had just happened, as they all carried on whooping and cheering for whomever they had put bets on, thinking that Jack had gotten in a lucky shot and wasn't out yet. His nostrils were flaring, and he never wanted to hurt someone so much in his life as he watched Jack throw the evidence slyly into the long grass behind him, making a note of exactly where it was so he had proof to use against him later. Connor wished you would let him do something when you slowly get up and winced at the tender spot just below your left breast as you gingerly pressed on it, but you refused to show any signs of pain other than that small gesture, and the fire burning in your eyes let him know that Jack was about to seriously regret that.

His hands were gripping the rail so hard, that the edges of the wood were cutting into his palms as he watched you take up your stance and ready yourself for one last push, holding his breath when you charged forward before Jack even knew what was going on. The first punch you threw was merely a distraction to get Jack to lower his guard around his head, allowing you to follow up with a clip to his jaw that dazed him enough, so he was too unfocused to block what was coming next. You did exactly what he would have done with a chance like that, going all out with everything that you had left, punches, knees and kicks to all the sensitive points of his body, not giving him even a millisecond to recover from each. By the time you were done, Jack was hunched over and swaying on the spot, and with one last thump to the back of his head, he collapsed to the floor and didn't attempt to get up, unmoving other than to raise his hand in defeat.

"We have a winner!"

As soon as the words left Bayeks lips, Connor released the rail and ducked under it, running over to you and catching you in his arms before you dropped in sheer exhaustion.

"That was amazing, you are full of surprises. I did not know you could fight like that," Connor mumbled against your hair, loosening his grip around you when you squeaked at his brushing up against your chest.

"Wasn't anything special, just happy I gave that git what he deserved! I take it you saw what he did?"

Connor nodded with his jaw clenched as he stepped back so you could receive praises and admiration from the people that were now flocking towards you, running through his head the protocol for getting someone kicked out of here for undue conduct as it wasn't something he'd ever had to do before, and most of it he had forgotten. Once you were alone again, he took your hands in his and kissed each knuckle in turn where they were now red and swollen, carrying on the conversation you were having before you were interrupted.

"It was special. I was excited watching you..." He trailed off, wondering if he should tell you about what he did. 

You were always encouraging him to be more open with you, regardless of how trivial or embarrassing it was, and he had been making more of an effort to do so recently, deciding that this should be no exception. He could feel his face getting warmer and his stomach tied in knots as you cocked your head and draped your arms over his shoulders in waiting for him to finish what he was saying, leaning forward so he could whisper next to your ear, not wanting anyone close by to hear what he was about to confess.

"I had gotten, _too_ excited watching you. I had to leave during the middle of the fight."

He knew he'd made the right choice when he moved away enough so he could see your reaction, weaving his arms around your waist as your eyes danced and you were biting on your bottom lip coyly; something you tended to do when you were in a cheeky and aroused mood, a grin creeping up his face that matched yours when you couldn't contain it any longer.

"Oh really? Well, I think next time we get some time alone you should show me exactly what you did to hide this 'excitement' I gave you," You giggled, walking your fingers down his chest and tapping on his belt buckle, not caring who was watching. "We can talk more about that later, right now a certain someone needs to tell me something. Where did he go?"

Both of you looked around to see where Jack had scarpered off too; expecting him to be getting fawned over by the Fryes, but neither of you spotted him, only becoming confused when you saw Evie, Mary, Edward and Ezio all huddled up near their dorms, parting to reveal a very familiar face who waved at you to come over when he saw you looking his way.

"He has likely hidden himself away to lick his wounds. What is Desmond doing here? Were you expecting him?"

You shook your head, and half jogged alongside Connor towards the group when Desmond waved at you again; more impatiently this time, ushering everyone into the barracks without saying a word.

"Um, what's going on?!"

Sitting down when Mary pulled out a chair and pushed you towards it, you started to panic when everyone silently perched themselves around the room: on the sofa, table, or up against the wall, with only Mary crouching down next to you, the usual grin that she did when she was up to something flashing over her face as she looked you in the eye.

"Remember when I said, careful what ya wish for fish? Well, Desmond's about to be your fairy godmother."


	9. Chapter 9

"Say what now?! For just once, can you tell me something that doesn't involve giving me a headache trying to figure it out?"

Mary stood back up and chuckled at your daft expression that was now bobbing to and fro between herself and Desmond, shaking her head when your gaze eventually settled on Connor, and you gave him a questioning glance, what she assumed was you silently asking if he knew anything about this.

"Ya can spare him the ear bashing; he didn't know. Evie will fill ya in."

Now you were baffled as the Frye stood in front of you with her arms folded over her chest and a calculating look in her eyes, beginning to feel like you were back in school and sat before the principal, about to get detention for some heinous crime that you didn't commit.

"First I would like to apologise to you both. It was my doing that you kept you apart. Past experiences have shown me that couples aren't able to work together without compromising their performance, but somehow, you have proven that you can manage it. If anything you support and make each other stronger. For that, I'm sorry."

You didn't know _what_ to say to that, especially now Edward, Mary and Ezio were all nodding in agreement; even though it looked like Evie was coerced into saying what she did, so you sat there in perfect silence while she turned away to pick up a tablet from the table and began deftly tapping on it, humming to herself while she searched for what she was looking for.

"As I'm sure you're aware by now, we took advantage of that little competition of yours to see if you were truly fit to participate in a mission we've been planning for the past few weeks. Tell me, do you recognise these people?"

Taking the tablet off her when she handed it out to you, you scrolled through several images of a few infamous Templars in this area; plus a couple of their lesser-known underlings, but you were confident enough to name each and every one of them, having taken it upon yourself to familiarise with your enemy in your own time.

"That's William Johnson. The others are Charles Lee, Ben Church, Tom Hickey, and John Pitcairn."

You carried on flicking through pictures in case there was any more at the end, but there wasn't so you handed it back and looked up at Connor when he rested his hand on your shoulder and tried to smile at you, but you could tell it wasn't entirely sincere, and you tried to decide if you felt more nervous or excited at what you guessed was coming next.

"Correct. We've learnt that they are all gathering together tomorrow evening, and we need to find out what they're planning. It must be something big for the three M's to be seen out in public, so Desmond, Mary, Connor and yourself will place surveillance on them before their meeting starts."

"Three M's?" You mumbled, slightly ashamed at your ignorance as Evie smirked at you.

"Military, money and muscle. Pitcairn, Johnson and Hickey are your primary targets; Mary will take the lead as usual. You had better get packing. Your plane leaves in four hours; the rest of the details will be on board."

Standing up with a renewed sense of urgency and nodding eagerly in acceptance of your very first mission, you went to walk towards the door when your colleagues had already made their way out but paused for a moment, and spun around to face Evie; who was still faffing with the tablet she had brought with her.

"Miss Frye? You didn't actually say where we're going?"

"Oh, didn't I? Sin City itself, Las Vegas. I trust you'll behave out there."

 

 

By the time you had packed, driven for two hours, and climbed aboard the desolate cargo plane headed for the other side of the country, you felt about ready to pass out from sheer exhaustion after today's events, but you knew you were never going to get any sleep, not with your chest hurting like you had been charged at by a rhino. Wincing as you sat in one of the seats bolted to the wall and strapped yourself in, you just managed to stop yawning enough to smile softly at Connor when he sat down beside you and handed you a silver thermos flask.

"What is it...?" You asked hesitantly when you screwed off the top and took a sniff, screwing your nose up when whatever it was smelled extremely pungent.

"Valerian root tea. It does not taste pleasant, but it will help with your pain and allow you to get some rest. Can I, see?"

Resting the lid back on the flask and lifting your top gently when he gestured to your chest, you looked down with a sigh when you saw his face darken with anger, not at all surprised that the thin red welt had now spread, and was a sickening shade of purple mixed with black.

"I will make sure he is punished for that; I do not care if he is Evie and Jacobs little pet. Unfortunately, the knuckles he used were gone by the time I had gotten back, so it will be our word against his. You were lucky he did not break a rib."

"Guess I'm made of the tough stuff," you hummed, dropping your jumper and pouring yourself a cup of the weak, amber liquid.

He had slightly underrated the flavour of the stuff; bitter weeds mixed with dirt crossing your palate even though he had added honey to sweeten it, but even so, you knocked it all back without complaint, trusting him completely with his home remedies for whatever ailed you as they always worked.

Several hours into the flight the tea had kicked in, and you had now been out cold for a while; even with the jostling of the plane, snuggled up to Connors' chest with his arm wrapped around you to keep you supported as you had taken off your lap strap to get more comfortable. Connor however, wasn't one for sleeping while flying, so instead, he merely closed his eyes and relaxed, that was until he sensed a presence nearby.

"Desmond, if I permit you to take a photograph, will that stop your staring?"

Connor opened his eye just a slither to see it was indeed Desmond creeping up and sitting down opposite him with his eyebrow raised, before closing it again and stroking down your arm absentmindedly when he didn't say anything.

"She did good today from what I heard, but you sure she's ready for this? I can only see her sat behind a desk," Desmond finally blurted out.

With a heavy sigh and a clear of his throat, Connor gave up trying to unwind and carefully sat more upright as not to disturb you, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly when Desmond's gaze was fixated on where his arm was over your shoulders.

"Of course she is. All of the top scores beaten, including the masters, more passion and drive than anyone has ever seen before, and then she took down someone twice her size single-handedly even though the odds were stacked against her. She is a perfect addition to the team, you need not worry."

"True," Desmond hummed, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "What about you? You ready?"

"What do you mean by that?!"

Desmond huffed through his nose with a smirk when he could see that Connor was getting riled up at his probing, so he wisely raised his hands defensively as he knew that this was one person's integrity he didn't want to question, but that didn't stop him from wanting to wind him up for some mild amusement.

"Woah, calm down. Didn't mean it like that. Just meant, well, a year ago you were saying that you didn't have time for girls, work is too important and kept on yelling at us when we tried to set you up. Now here you are, all loved up and under the thumb. You can't always be there to protect her you know."

"I am not, under the thumb," Connor growled lowly. "Nor does she need protecting, she is quite capable of doing that herself."

"Heh, I saw you about to run over when she got smacked in the gut during her fight. She the one then? Didn't think it would last this long, never pegged you for the settling down type."

Connors rigid posture instantly melted when he looked down at you sleeping soundly on his chest, mumbling under his breath when he admitted to himself that all of what Desmond had said was true. He shouldn't have attempted to intervene in your contest, but he couldn't help himself. It tore him up inside at seeing you hurt like that, and it definitely wasn't something he was ready for. Now with it possibly being a regular occurrence, he must mentally prepare himself for the fact he won't always be there, as much as it pained him to do so. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying if he could, ready to rip the arm off anyone who attempted in any way to take you from him and bludgeon them with the wet end. He loved you, more than he ever thought possible, and by some miracle you loved him; flaws and all, although he did question why from time to time.

"She is the one, I would kill, or die for her without a second thought. I know what I said before, though we cannot predict the future. I did not plan to find someone, but I am sure you are familiar with the concept of soulmates?"

Rolling his eyes when Desmond stuck his finger in his mouth and feigned wretching several times, Connor was relieved when Mary started calling from the other side of the plane saying it was time to go over the mission plan, as he wasn't one for having conversations like this, and they made him extremely uncomfortable.

"You are just envious of what we have," Connor grumbled, scowling because he had to rouse you.

"Maybe. You've got as close to a normal life as any of us are gonna get, who wouldn't be jealous?"

Connor sneered as Desmond jumped up and shrugged his shoulders before bounding towards where Mary was still calling, then stroked your cheek with the back of his fingers to wake you up, startled when you immediately turned your head and looked up at him with a sweet smile.

"How long have you been awake for?"

"Long enough teddy bear," You giggled, kissing him on the jaw before grabbing his hand to pull him up with you. "Come on, if her voice gets any higher pitched she'll shatter the windows."

Mary was impatiently tapping her foot by the time you got to her, almost throwing a dossier in your chest with a wry smirk as she eyed up the creases across your face from where you had been laying on Connors coat pocket.

"Nap times over, now for work. This is what we know. The meetings at the Bellagio hotel nightclub, s'posed to meet up about ten, so we haven't got long to get sorted. Desmond, Hickey's the easiest mark out the lot of them, reckon ya can get a bug on him?"

"Trawling through every single bar on the strip? Cos that's where he'll be. Yeah, a piece of cake..."

You bit your lips together, so you didn't laugh as Desmond's disgruntled expression at his orders, shuffling through the nearly sparse folder for any information on what you'll be doing, but there was nothing more than the photos that you'd already seen, plus a few of the hotel from outside.

"Oh shut yer whinging. Connor and I will go to our contact to get the surveillance equipment that we'll need, and fish... You can pick up a van."

"That's it?!" You blurted, expecting something a bit more, well, more.

"Baby steps fish. I know you're eager to get out there, but this info came at a hefty price. The mission needs to go off without a hitch, that's why there's four of us, in case anything goes wrong. You'll get your turn soon. Promise."

Less than impressed that you had been relegated to an errand girl, you snapped the file shut and tossed it on top of a crate that was serving as a makeshift table and, slid Demond's laptop towards you so you could look up where the nearest rental place was while Mary and Connor had their own little conversation about what gadgets to use. In less than a couple of minutes, you had found the ideal transport that matched Mary's specifics and was deciding whether a black, or white van would look less inconspicuous when you saw Desmond inching towards you in a less than subtle fashion, cocking your head when he leaned in to whisper in your ear.

"Let you in on a little secret? Something aaaaaalways goes wrong. Dunno why, but shit'll hit the fan at some point."

Smirking as you knew this was his way of trying to cheer you up, you found yourself hoping that he was wrong for once and everything went along without a problem, as that would be more impressive to the higher ups than it going to pot and salvaging your way back out, and you were eager to impress on your first time.

"Well, hopefully me being here will put an end to that. I've got this, you go and get your head down for a bit," You chuckled when you saw Mary jump into one of the hammocks that had been set up.

"You sure?" 

Nodding once and giving him a thumbs up as you grabbed his work and slowly attempted to put it in some sense of order, you kept your head low so he wouldn't see the cheeky smirk threatening to adorn your face, as you had another agenda for wanting him to go to sleep. As soon as you heard duel snoring, you pushed the papers to one side and crept over to where Connor was further down the plane; bent over and rummaging through one of the black crates, walking your fingers up his back before leaning up beside him and crossing your arms over your chest.

"Can I ask you something?"

Looking completely innocent when he finally found what he was looking for and emerged from the case, you took his raised eyebrows as a yes and slid closer to him, enough so that you didn't have to raise your voice for him to hear you.

"Do you know what the Mile High club is?"

 _Oh goodie_ you thought when his face went completely blank, and he shook his head softly, taking another glance towards your coworkers to make sure they were definitely asleep.

"Meet me in the bathroom in two minutes. I'll tell you there." 

You knew he was watching you as you strolled towards what served as a bathroom at the front of the plane, so you purposefully exaggerated the wiggle of your ass as you stepped, unable to stop your grin emerging anymore as you did. You didn't bother locking the door when you got there, instead wondering how you were going to pull this off as the space was barely big enough for yourself, let alone two people. Not exactly romantic. But that didn't deter you, as you probably wouldn't get an opportunity like this again anytime soon, and the excitement of today made you incredibly horny.

Kicking off your trainers and shimmying out your jeans quickly, you hissed when you perched yourself on the edge of the metal counter that had the sink inset; as it was stupidly cold, and propped your foot on the side of the toilet, stroking yourself over your knickers just as a knocking came from the door. You licked your lips when Connor twisted the latch and saw what you were doing, his eyes widening as it eventually dawned on him what 'Mile High' club was, almost slamming the door shut behind him as he squeezed into the tight space, and locking it quickly.

"Nah ah," you giggled, shaking your finger at him when he went to grab you. "You need to show me what you were doing earlier."

You had seen him embarrassed before, but this was a whole new level, even the tips of his ears turning pink as he swiftly undid his trousers and pushed them down to mid-thigh level, his eyes flittering between your face and, your hand that was now busy pushing your pants to the side as he languidly took his twitching cock in his palm.

"You are becoming bolder recently," he choked as you dipped a finger inside yourself, rubbing the arousal you had collected around your clit.

"Are you complaining?"

Grinning and biting your bottom lip when he shook his head fiercely, your hand instinctively moved faster now that he had stroked himself to full hardness; his tip a deep shade of purple he was so swollen, your walls clenching tight around nothing and blazing heat creeping up your face as you used two fingers to part your lips, so he could see how wet you were for him. With neither of you having patience as a virtue, it wasn't long before you gave up playing with yourselves, with you ending up trying to push down your pants down your legs in the confined space, not being made any easier by Connor closing the one foot of gap between you and trying to kiss you in between your fumblings.

You wished you had thought this through a bit better when you cracked your shin on the cistern; adding yet another bruise to your collection, but you eventually managed to turn yourself around into a doggie style fashion, tiptoes of one leg balancing you on the floor while you propped your knee of the other up on the edge of the counter. His cock felt scorching as he spread your cheeks and nudged against your entrance, the slipperiness of you allowing him to slowly enter you without stopping, forcing you to swallow an elated moan now you could feel his thighs pressed up hard against the backs of your legs. You used one hand to brace yourself against the mirror when he began rolling his hips shallowly, the other being guided to back between your legs, two of his fingers massaging either side of your tingling nub while yours danced over it.

Pressing your cheek against the glass when he found his rhythm and was now hitting the perfect spot with each powerful thrust; your heavy breathing steaming it up and condensing into droplets, you couldn't stop a squeal ripping from you when the aircraft started its descent, the sudden dip in altitude making a sneeze like wave of tingling pleasure roll through your stomach and collect at your engorged clit, intensifying every stroke. You knew he had the same reaction as he buried his head into the crook of your neck to stifle his groans of delight, and you swore his length felt even harder inside you when it happened again, now plunging into you deeper, but an erratic tempo.

"D-did you know this would happen?" He growled against your cheek, struggling to hold himself back for much longer.

You shook your head as much as you could considering you were squashed against a mirror, the wet crackling sound coming from between you and the added vigour pushing you ever closer to release. Connor fiercely grabbed onto the side of your hip when the stimulation became too much for him, pumping into you vigorously with an almost muted bellow against your shoulder. He continued rutting against you as if he hadn't just come because he knew you weren't finished, sliding his hand down and collecting some of his climax that was leaking out of you onto his fingers and rubbing it over your sweet spot with rapid caresses. You had no idea what came out of your mouth when you finally hit your peak, barely even registering the pleased shushes in your ear as you trembled and quaked as he worked you through your release, slumping against the mirror with a tired, breathy smile as the aftershocks had zapped what was left of your strength.

"Are all of your ideas like this?"

Chucking lightly as he gently pulled out and helped you turn around, so you were now facing him, you cupped his face in your hands and pecked over his cheeks and lips resting your head on his shoulder when he pulled you into his embrace with a contented sigh.

"Well, lets put it this way, fingers crossed we'll be working together more often."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance if updates take a bit longer after this one, as most of you know AC3 Remastered comes out this Friday, and there's no way I can resist playing with Connor >:-D


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am slowly getting back into the groove! Thank you all for your patience, I promise not to keep you waiting as long next time ❤

Deciding it would be better to stay away from the Strip while you were setting up, you all checked into a seedy motel a few miles away, (one where you assumed most of its patrons paid by the hour) and dumped your bags in the rooms, before going your separate ways for your tasks. As much as you hated public transport, you had to catch the bus into Paradise; where the garage was that you were renting the van from, in a very foul mood by the time you had gotten off thanks to the smell of stale chips and body odour, plus the drunken idiot who decided to play an annoying 'song' on repeat and at full blast the entire way.

Entering the front of the dealership, you stood at the reception counter for a few moments looking around for someone to help you, but when no one showed up, you rested your elbows on the worktop with a huff and pressed the bell irritably several times. Again and again you pushed it, harder each time until you thought the thing might go through the wood, only stopping when you heard the door chime behind you.

"Blasted place, it gets worse every time I come here! If somebody doesn't come out within the next twenty seconds, I will take my car, and the work done will be free of charge!" A heavy voice bellowed out a foot away, making you freeze to the spot.

It wasn't that your eardrum was about to burst from how loud it actually was, but the Scottish lilt you were sure you'd heard before on a recording that had the little hairs at the back of your neck stand on end, and make you drop your arm to pull your jacket down to mid-palm, so your bracer was definitely covered.

"How long have you been waiting?"

Hoping you were just paranoid, you turned your head slightly to the left so you could identify who was actually stood next to you, your stomach clenching in knots when your guess was unfortunately right, none other than John Pitcairn who was now subtly puffing his chest out when your eyes fixated on the numerous emblems and medals pinned to his coat.

"Erm, not sure. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes?"

You were momentarily spared of answering any more questions when a very dishevelled, middle-aged salesman appeared from the staff only door behind the desk, panic written all over his face when he saw who he had been keeping waiting.

"A million apologies Mr Pitcairn sir, we're short staffed today," he grovelled, completely ignoring you. "I'll fetch your keys at once..."

"Don't you give me that bullcrap! I can smell fresh smoke on you. I expect a hefty discount for this, _after_ you have helped this young lady first, she's been waiting far longer than me thanks to your incompetence!"

Slamming your receipt on the counter when the man finally stopped bowing his head like an idiot and noticed you; jabbing at the keyboard as if you were an inconvenience, you kept looking out the corner of your eye at the Templar while you waited, half satisfied that he had no idea who you were thankfully, so maybe you would have the chance to gain a little intel.

"Miss... Smith. Black Ford Transit for three days. I'll get the mechanic to bring it around the front, make sure the tank's full when you return it, or it's $4 a gallon."

Gritting your teeth, so you didn't blurt out how that price was beyond extortionate for gas, you merely nodded while he resumed creeping to Pitcairn before disappearing again through the back door to _personally_ collect his car, leaving you wondering what to say, or do now.

"A girl that drives a stick, I'm impressed. What do you need such a big van for? Name's John by the way."

"Michelle," you blurted, suddenly remembering to use the alias that was on your reservation. "Um, moving house, away from the strip."

"Away from the strip? That's expensive. What job do you have?"

Not expecting to have to come up with a full-blown back story while you were doing something as simple as picking up a van, you began to panic slightly and ended up babbling out the first thing that came to mind, hoping it sounded at least half believable.

"Server at the Bellagio, tips have been good recently so taking advantage while I can. What about you? Army general?"

You knew that he wasn't, but thankfully the nieve route didn't offend him in any way; when he began chuckling to himself, as the last thing you needed was to make yourself more memorable than you were already becoming.

"Captain in the Marines actually. You must have some outstanding customers, or... do you provide services that aren't on the menu?"

Freezing to the spot, and knitting your brows into a deep frown when he stroked down the side of your arm with the backs of his fingers; accompanied by a lewd smirk, rage began to bubble inside you when it became more evident as to what he was suggesting. _He was calling you a... prostitute??!_ Without even thinking you drew your hand back and swung it with all your might in the general direction of his face, feeling a brief moment of satisfaction when you caught him right across the cheekbone, and your fingers were now stinging from the impact.

"Excuse me!" You spat, glaring at him when he stood there eyes wide and dumbfounded. 

Before you could throw some more abuse his way your attention was pulled by the sound of an impatiently blaring car horn at the front yard, marching out of there with your chin up and slamming the door behind you as you caught the grease-covered keys that the mechanic tossed at you when he got out of the drivers seat.

 

 

"You did what??!! Goddamn it fish, we're supposed to be on the down low!"

Shrugging your shoulders when you didn't see what the big deal was as Mary paced in front of you and rubbed her temples, you sat down on the edge of the bed while you waited for the rest of her telling off, immediately regretting it when one of the springs stabbed you in the buttcheek and made you jump back up with a yelp.

"What would you have done if someone called you a whore? And don't say nothing, because that's a downright lie."

You knew you were off the hook when she gave you a mischievous grin and bobbed her head to and fro as if she was considering several options, turning to the door when Desmond burst through it looking pissed off.

"Probably grabbed him by the jewels and squeezed till he was singin' soprano. Where the hell have you been?! You were supposed to be back an hour ago!"

"Whose bits you grabbing? Was a bust, couldn't get anywhere near Hickey with all his rabble around. So, what's plan B boss?" Desmond grumbled as he dropped the unopened case containing the bugs on the table.

"Great. Just great, what else can go wrong today. As for 'bits', yours are looking good right now after that epic failure."

Bursting out into fits of laughter when Desmond whimpered loudly and covered his most prized possession with both hands, you soon clammed up when it quickly became apparent that Mary _wasn't_ joking, as she had her stern 'mom' face on and grabbed the floor plans to the Bellagio that she had obtained earlier.

"There's no way we can get in with all that security, half of 'em would recognise us the second we stepped through the door. Yes, the casino's run by the sodding Templars fish," She growled when she saw you staring at the plan, eyebrows raised and surprised. "Desmond, sure you can't get into the video feeds?"

"You've got no chance. Besides, there aren't any cameras in the Vip area."

You sat there thoughtfully as your colleagues continued to bicker about what to do next, drumming your fingers on your leg when you came up with an _idea_. It wasn't a perfect plan, but with no other options coming to mind you didn't see any other choice.

"No one knows who I am," you whispered, coughing hard and saying it louder when it went unnoticed. "I could pose as someone, get a listening device in the room maybe?"

The room dropped into an uncomfortable silence as Mary internally debated on whether sending a fresh recruit was a wise choice or not, all three of you spinning around to face the door when Connor came in, who apparently had been eavesdropping for a while.

"She can do it, let her go. It does not look like we have another alternative, and time is running out."

You knew it must have been hard to say that given the sour look on his face when he crossed his arms over his chest tightly and leant up against the wall, so you were sure to keep your excitement in check as Mary eventually agreed, gesturing for everyone to pack up what you needed to complete the mission.

The short drive to the strip was filled with an air of tension; mostly coming from you and Connor who were sat in the back, so you shuffled on your rear along the floor and sat next to him, nudging his arm with your own as he looked deep in thought.

"Talk to me."

Sitting there fiddling with the woven and beaded bracelet he made for you on your birthday (one of the few things he had given you as he was self-confessed, _terrible_ at gifts) while he sighed and looked at you out of the corner of his eye, you leant forward when he draped his arm over your shoulders, pulling you in close as you nuzzled your cheek on his chest.

"I do not like going to a mission with so many uncertainties. We are not sure how we are even going to get you in yet, and it bothers me."

"Is that everything?" You whispered, hoping that gentle probing would spur him on into revealing whatever else it was.

Sighing softly when all he did was give you a simple nod, you took him at his word as you had enough on your plate at this moment in time, without having to worry about what was going on in his head too.

"Look alive people, we're here," Mary called from the driver's seat as she reversed down a service side street as close to the casino as she could get. "Keep yer eyes peeled, there's gotta be someone around here that fish can impersonate."

As there were no windows in the back, both you and Connor jumped up and leaned on the front seats so you could see out of the windscreen, with you biting back a smirk while you purposefully breathed louder as your mouth was right next to Desmond's ear. After several minutes of searching, three of you nearly clashed heads as you jumped out of your skin when Mary almost screamed out 'There!', eyes darting about as none of you could see anything amongst the bustle of people about.

"An you lot call yerselves Assassins..." She grumbled, pointing over to a solitary girl near the fountain who looked like she was taking a break and engrossed in her phone. "You know the drill boys."

Crouching there mildly amused as Connor and Desmond sighed and began a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who was going out to 'relive' the girl of her uniform so you could sneak into the casino, you moved out of the way when Mary climbed over the seats to join you in the back, ignoring Desmonds grouching and slamming the van door shut behind him after his loss.

"He always chooses scissors," Connor smirked, handing Mary a small, silver case when she gestured for him to pass it over.

Your face formed an 'Ooh' expression when you peeked over Mary's shoulder as she flicked the catches on the case and opened it up, revealing one side filled with numerous makeup items, the other with latex noses, masks, glues and suchlike.

"You can do all this?" You asked, plucking up a small jar of clear goo and shaking it gently.

"Yep. I was undercover as a bloke for a couple of years; Edward didn't even figure it out till I came back. Still calls me James sometimes," She chuckled, taking the jar off you and placing it back in its compartment. "Right, how shall we do you up? Au naturel or strip hooker?"

Having no idea what cocktail waitresses wore, or even knowing what half of the products she had in there were you just stared at her blankly and shrugged your shoulders, images of a psycho clown running through your head when she picked up a deep crimson lipstick and held it up to your face with a nod of approval.

"Red suits everyone. This is gonna be fun!"

You began to feel nervous at Mary's enthusiasm when she dipped a cotton wool ball into one of the jars and started rubbing it all over your face, pleading with your eyes at Connor for him to intervene but he merely shrugged his shoulders while trying to hide his smirk by pretending he was looking for something in one of the other boxes. You were granted a mild reprieve when a weird tapping came from the side door, grateful for the distraction when Desmond opened it with a dress tucked under his arm and a pair of black high heels in his hand.

"You usually get a woman out of her clothes that fast?" You laughed, rolling your eyes when he flashed a cocky smirk.

"Ah don't be too impressed fish, he knocked her out first."

"Hey! Sedated actually. She's in a cab 'drunk' and on her way home, it'll wear off in about twenty minutes."

Giving Desmond 'the eye' for a moment as you didn't really approve of his method of getting the outfit, you quickly turned your attention back to Mary when she cleared her throat loudly, your heart sinking when she laid out several pencils, brushes and other gadgets that bared a striking resemblance to torture equipment in front of you.

"Men, out. Me an fish have gotta concentrate now, no distractions. You can sort out a decent wire while ya waiting."

 

 

Twenty minutes later, and after much plucking, primping and blotting, Mary was teasingly holding a mirror behind her back while you zipped up the dress, doing everything you could to tug it down further as it was a lot shorter than you initially realised. Not only that, it was extremely tight fitting, the black halterneck accentuating all of your 'assets', making you wonder how anyone could manage to get any work done in such a thing. You narrowed your eyes when she went to pass you the mirror but then snatched it away and held it out of your reach, not daring to attempt to take it from her as one wrong move and you would be walking into the casino wearing nothing but a ragged scrap of cloth.

"If I look like an idiot our friendship is over."

Seeing that you were getting grumpy, Mary eventually dropped her arm and let you see your reflection, your eyebrows shooting up to your perfectly styled hairline as you actually looked pretty damned good. She had even managed to blend in the tan line on your arm that your bracer had left, but now you were feeling almost naked without it.

"Woah, cheekbones much!" You gasped, turning your head side to side so you could admire all of her hard work.

"You've got a good face for it, easy really. C'mon, let's get ya in there."

Carefully climbing out of the van to face two, bored to tears looking men, you put your hands on your hips and scoffed when Desmond just stood there staring, and then chuckled as Connor bounced a small black disk in between his hands that he had nearly dropped when he saw you.

"Hey, eyes up here," you scorned, grabbing Desmond's nose and tilting his head back up, so it was level with your face before turning and striking a pose for Connor. "I look okay?"

The answer was pretty obvious, as he fumbled pinning the miniature camera that was actually in the shape of a flower to the lapel of your dress just below the nametag, more flustered than if he were giving a corsage to his date to the prom.

"I... Do not care for the grease on your lips, but you will fit in perfectly. No one will suspect who you are."

Taking it as a compliment, you grinned widely and smoothed yourself out one last time, taking a deep breath to calm your nerves as you turned to leave the alleyway, and headed towards the staff entrance at the side of the hotel.


	11. Chapter 11

Forcing yourself not to wring your hands as you quickly walked through the employee's section of the hotel, you managed to find a secluded area amongst the bustle of people so that you could slip in the earbud that you had tucked into your bra, as you didn't want to risk it being spotted by any security on your way in.

"Mary, you there?"

_"Damnit fish, use the codenames. Someone might be listening!"_

"Sorry, Fox," you whispered. "Not like I've done this before. How come you all get cool names like Fox, Bear and Hawk, and you couldn't change mine from Fish?!"

You grimaced when Mary sighed down your ear; apparently exasperated at your question, grabbing some napkins and fiddling with them while keeping your head low when a pair of the restaurant's waiters passed by you and were staring at you huddled by a dumb waiter.

_"Nows not the time fish. I'm gonna pass you over to Hawk; he'll tell ya where to go."_

Becoming all too well aware that you were starting to get a few sideways glances as it looked like you were slacking off while everyone else was running about doing their jobs, you took to clearing a few empty glasses off tables while you waited for Desmond to tell you where you needed to go.

_"Right, um, Fish. Do you see that big bar on the other side of the room? Go towards that; then you'll see a roped-off entrance to the left of it. Tell the bouncers that you were personally requested by Johnson to get in."_

Right, this was it - the first test to see if you could hold your nerve. Dropping everything in your hands down on the nearest table, you almost began pace walking through the slots area and towards the two security men that were as big as houses, stopping when a middle-aged woman; who was wearing far too much makeup and a designer suit that was way too tight in your opinion, began waving and calling over to you.

"You girl! Come here! I swear you lot would have half a brain cell if I put you all together! Yes, you'll do nicely," She barked, grabbing your arm and twirling you around so fast you nearly fell on your face.

"I'll do for what?!"

It was now apparent as she pinched the bridge of her nose and looked exasperated that she was your 'boss', letting her drag you over to the back bar and thrust a silver serving tray in your hands, topping it off with an expensive looking bottle of scotch, and five glasses.

"Stupid girl, table service of course! Isn't that what you all pester me for so you can get better tips?! Take that to the lounge and stay there, they're important clients. Give them anything they want. And yes, I do mean **anything** ," She spat, noticing the look of horror on your face. "Get going."

Feeling a bit relieved now that you had gotten a way into the very place you were trying to get to, it was quickly wained by a sick feeling gathering up in the pit of your stomach as your original plan of 'sneak in and sneak out' was thrown out of the window, forced to do what you had been told or risk exposing yourself. Your shoes didn't make a sound on the thick carpet as you strutted past the guards and down the corridor to the Vip area, taking a moment to observe your surroundings as you quietly entered the room.

It was more lavish compared to the rest of the casino, big leather armchairs and paintings on the wall, everywhere trimmed with wood including the service bar at the end, reminding you more of a Gentleman's club than anything else. It was a lot quieter in here too, the only sounds coming from the conversing Templars sat around a coffee table, who still hadn't noticed you. It was Pitcairn who stopped chattering long enough to see you when you placed the glasses on the table, a smirk tugging at your lips when he unconsciously raised his hand to his cheek and rubbed it briefly.

"Hello again."

Now that caught their attention, the remaining four abruptly stopping mid-sentence to stare at you while you poured them each a generous slosh of the scotch, before turning to Pitcairn for an explanation.

"We met at the garage earlier today. Charming girl. Michelle was it?"

_"Talk to em fish! Find out what they're up to! We'll keep radio silence for now."_

You nearly jumped out of your skin when Mary's voice blared out right next to your eardrum; forgetting for a moment that you were wearing an earpiece, covering yourself by pressing your face to your shoulder and pretending to sneeze, much to Lee's disgust who had now put his untouched drink back down with a glare.

"Yes, good memory."

"Ay? Then why's yer tag say, Sam?"

Glancing down when Hickey jabbed his finger in the direction of your chest, you knew you had to find an excuse, and fast when they all started to look on edge at the discovery, laughing to yourself slightly nervously to try and buy you a moment to think.

"Well. We get into a lot of trouble if we're not wearing one, and I lost mine while moving house. I um, borrowed my friends, she's off duty tonight."

"Oh, bad girl. I like 'em like that."

"I prefer my women to have standards," Lee chimed in as he continued to stare at his apparent 'germ covered' drink.

Letting out a stealthy sigh of relief when they all seemed to relax at your explanation, you turned to Johnson when he held up his already empty glass and gestured for a refill, willing your hands not to shake as one close call already was starting to make you on edge.

"Tom, I wouldn't do that if I..."

Pitcairn didn't have a chance to finish before you spun around when you saw Hickey go to grab your backside out of the corner of your eye, catching his wrist as fast as lightning and twisting it back, then dropping it when he let out a mighty yelp.

"Mind your manners, Sir."

You stood there panicking when everyone was staring at you blankly yet again; thinking that you had just blown this entire mission out the water, but you playfully scoffed when the group burst out laughing at their colleague being told off by a waitress, something that they were going to mock him for immediately.

"I tried to warn you, Thomas!" Pitcairn chuckled. "She's not one of the floozies."

"I can bloody well see that now can't I! Tell yer what. I don't fancy what these posh twats are drinkin', get me a beer. Please." 

Biting your lips together when he hastily added that last part; so you didn't rile him up any further with your amusement, you went over to the bar to fetch Hickey a different drink, frowning when your little stunt had already been forgotten, and he pulled you to sitting in his lap after taking the bottle from you.

"Take a load off duck, them shoes must be 'urtin," He growled, wrapping his free arm around your waist so you couldn't get up without any great deal of force. "What? I'm behavin', not like I'm sucking on her tits now is it?"

After sniggers of agreement from everyone; apart from Lee who was staring at you with a cold, calculating look in his eyes, they carried on talking as if you weren't even there, which unfortunately for you, was about boring business stuff or shenanigans that they had gotten up to, and nothing to do with any secret plans or schemes. Thankfully, you were able to get up from Hickey's lap on occasion; which was now getting hot and sweaty from you being there so long, when somebody needed their glass topped up, but even though you tried to avoid getting too close to him he managed to drag you back down, and you were starting to get very pissed off with it, especially now his hand that had settled on your leg started to grope and roam higher.

But that was the least of your worries at the moment, as you quickly looked around when you saw Johnson raise his hand and wave to someone behind you, ashamed that you didn't hear the door open and mentally scolded yourself for it as even as a novice, nobody should be able to sneak up on you.

"Ah, Georgie! Glad you could finally make it!"

Now _this_ man you didn't know. Tall, about fifty-something with white hair, and more adornments on his military outfit that you had seen in your life. Prying Hickey's hand off of you when the mystery man took off his cover and tucked it under his arm while he searched for somewhere to sit, you yourself saw no more armchairs available so you jumped up and dragged the small, two-seater sofa over, making a shooing motion at the Templars to make them scoot over.

"Thank you, miss. Could I possibly trouble you for a brandy?"

You gave him a genuine smile at his politeness and nodded while he took a seat with the rest of them, feeling like a yo-yo and hurrying over to the other side of the room, hoping that someone on the outside could tell you who this unknown person was. It took you a moment to locate the brandy bottle on the back shelf as they all looked the same to you, really wishing you had paid more attention to what Desmond was doing when you visited him at the bar on occasion.

 _"You want the snifter glass, the stumpy one that looks like a balloon,"_ Desmond said, obviously seeing that when you had picked up the wrong stemware thanks to the camera pinned to your dress.

Making sure you had your back turned to the group while you slowly poured the spirit as per Desmonds instructions, you took a chance and whispered back as lowly as you could, confident that no one would be able to hear you from where you were stood.

"Thanks. Who's the one that just came in? I don't recognise him?"

_"Fox says that's Colonel George Monroe. Third in command to the Grand Master and no ones seen him in years. This is big. Like, supernova-sized big. Keep doing what you're doing; doesn't look like they're on to you so get what you can."_

Rolling your eyes when a loud whistle came from behind you and you turned to see Hickey waving his empty bottle in the air, you picked up two beers this time along with the brandy and headed back over once again, yelping when you were dragged to your usual 'seat'.

"Thomas, let the girl go, poor thing looks terrified. You can sit next to me," Munroe said, noticing you were persistently trying to smack away roaming hands.

"Nah, yer happy here, aren't ya duck."

Figuring you could kill two birds with one stone; stop being on the verge of molested by the enemy and also gain favour with the person who seemed to be in charge here, you managed to elbow Hickey in the gut hard enough so he let you go, almost leaping over the table to take a more convenient seat.

"Much better. Now everyone can concentrate on what we all came here for. Is it clear to talk?"

Your eyes widened and, you cursed several times in your head when it looked like going to be made to leave as George started pointedly at you, and then to Lee, so you quickly looked around for somewhere you could drop the bug where it wouldn't be seen. But before you found a decent spot, Johnson held out his glass to you as Lee pulled out his phone and nodded, turning it so Monroe could see what was on the screen; which just happened to be a picture of your face taken on the sly several minutes ago.

"She's clean. Well her _background_ is anyway." Lee sneered, glaring at you like you were something he'd stepped in.

"Excellent. Ben, you've arranged the inoculations?"

Glancing at Church out of the corner of your eye as you had almost forgotten that he was even here as he was the quietest out the bunch of them, you acted like you couldn't care what they were talking about by doing your 'duties' and keeping Johnson topped up; who didn't seem to be affected in the slightest considering how fast he was consuming the spirit.

"I have. They're not really needed for Mexico, but I've made up a little cocktail for Hepatitis, Typhoid, and Tetanus. Threw Rabies in there for good measure too."

Smirking along when they immediately started taunting Hickey once the word Hepatitis was mentioned, you turned your upper body slightly so the camera could pick up the Epi-pen style syringes that Church pulled out of his briefcase and passed around, feeling a lot more confident now that you were getting somewhere.

"You won't be needing yours Bennie boy; you ain't comin' with us."

You raised your eyebrows as they all leant forward in their seats as if they were stalking prey towards the momentarily confused, then petrified looking man, doing your best to shrink back into the sofa, as whatever was about to happen, you were damned sure you didn't want to be in the middle of it.

"Think we wouldn't find out that you was sellin' our secrets to them MI ninety-five or whatever they bloody are? Don't worry, I'll look after yer missus for ya." Hickey sneered.

How you didn't flinch when Lee pulled out a gun with a silencer on it and shot Church straight in the heart was beyond you, instead sitting there slack-jawed and watching his white shirt turn scarlet as his head lolled forward onto his chest.

"One thing I cannot stand is a traitor. My dear, would you call the men out front to dispose of that filth?"

Quickly shaking yourself out of your daze when George lay his hand gently on your arm in prompting for an answer, you got up and smoothed down your dress before hastily going over and poking your head out the door, calling in the security guards who didn't seem at all fazed that they were disposing of a dead body by carrying it out the back.

"Most girls would have been wailing like a banshee at seeing something like that, yet you seem untroubled."

"Hmm?" You mumbled, tearing your eyes from the bloodstained chair when you realized William was speaking to you. "I grew up in a rough neighborhood, something like that was a weekly occurrence. Top up?"

Resuming your seat after tipping the last few drops of scotch into a chuckling Johnsons glass, you kept quiet when the four remaining men carried on with their plans as if they hadn't just murdered one of their colleagues, wishing they would hurry the hell up and reveal something now, as your skin was creeping and you were regretting volunteering to be around such a barbaric crowd.

"Where were we. Mexico. You've located the first half of the disk?"

"That we have. I have the expedition to Chichen Itza ready to go, and recruited some of the locals to guide us to the temple," William aired smugly. "The Grand Master is pleased with our progress thus far."

"Ruddy Mexico. I like the beer and the women o'course, but the food gives me the shits!" 

You all groaned in unison at Hickey's vulgar remark, Pitcairn even going as far as to slap his head, but your amusement was cut short by Lee's silver eyes drilling into your own like he was attempting to burn your soul, balancing the rim of his glass on his armrest with just his fingertip. Before you could wonder why he was doing it, he suddenly let go, and the glass went to tumble to the floor, but in a natural reaction you leant forward and caught it in the nick of time, setting it down on the table at the same moment as he stood up, towering over you.

"Fast reactions. Not bothered about dead bodies, can't pour a drink to save her life. Where did you say you were from?"

_"Shit! Fish, you've been made! Get outta there!"_

Mary didn't need to tell you twice as you felt every drop of your saliva evaporate in that very millisecond, grabbing the empty scotch bottle as calm as anything, refusing to be intimidated or let on that you knew what he was talking about.

"I'll try not to be insulted," You sniffed. "Back in a jiffy, you're a thirsty bunch aren't you."

Not thinking about the four sets of eyes that had been glued to your back as soon as you were out the door, you let out the breath you had been holding and picked up the pace to on the verge of jogging, not bothering going back the way you came in, instead, opting for the main entrance as it was closer. 

"Fox? Bear? Can anyone hear me?!"

Doing your best to hide around the slot machines when you could only hear crackling static, and a group of guards rushed past you with their radios blaring, you knew you had to cover yourself somehow when they all started grabbing the female employees and checking to see if they were you. Spotting a trench coat hanging off the back of a stool, you silently mouthed 'sorry' to its owner who was engrossed in shoving quarters in the machine like she was possessed, tugging it on as you ducked behind a large fern when more security arrived. Your blood was pumping fast now as you peeked through the foliage to try and find a clear way to the exit, the corner of your mouth curling up when you spied a fire alarm on the nearby wall.

_Well it works in the movies, why shouldn't it for you?!_

Sticking close to a group of Chinese businessmen as they were the only ones that weren't lingering about and were headed roughly in the direction you wanted to go, you managed to slyly reach out and pull the alarm when you got close enough, covering your ears when a deafening siren blared through the air, only just hearing Mary through the din.

_"Fish... Bad signal... Meet... Front..."_

Now that all the security were busy either ushering people out or trying to drag them away from their gambling, you followed the horde out the front, not looking out of place when you broke into a sprint as you saw your van and the side door slide open, diving in with your legs still dangling out as Mary hit the gas and sped off.


	12. Chapter 12

"Damn that was close! You okay?!"

Giving Mary a quick thumbs up over your head so she could see you in the rearview mirror, you sat down on the floor of the van and shot a quizzical look over to where Connor was huddled up in the corner, but as he was staring at the wall and looked like he was chewing on a wasp, it went ignored.

"I'll let you know when the adrenaline's worn off," You laughed, shuffling along and propping your folded arms on the back of the front seats. "What's the matter with Connor? Did he do something wrong?"

You knew that you had guessed right when Mary and Desmond gave each other a worried look out of the corner of their eyes and hesitated in answering, with Mary slumping back in her seat so you could hear her hushed voice.

"He smashed Desmond's laptop, that's why we lost the signal. Went full out Hulk rage when ya were sat on Hickey's knee, took us ages to calm him down."

Sighing and banging your head on your arms several times as you thought that you had settled any concerns about this, you decided that you would deal with that in a moment; the mission comes first of course.

"So, they're going to Mexico. What was that disk thing they were on about? Sorry I couldn't get any more out of them than that, think nerves got the better of me in the end."

"Ah, you did great fish! Shame they decided to swiss cheese our snitch, but we got what we needed. I'll send the info to the intelligence eggheads; we'll know what we're dealing with before the days out."

Grinning when she reached behind and ruffled your hair like she was praising a little kid, your face soon dropped, and your stomach lurched as you turned around to face the inevitable, your brows knitting tightly when you snuggled up to Connors' arm and the gesture was _not_ reciprocated. Even by the time you had gotten back to the hotel and to your room he still wasn't speaking, to anyone, and truth be told you weren't fretting about it any longer, more annoyed than anything else.

"If you're not gonna talk to me, you might as well sleep in the van. I don't need this after the evening I've had."

You couldn't tell what he was thinking as you looked at him out of the corner of your eye when he leant up against the dresser with his arms folded loosely over his chest, as his face was pretty much devoid of expression and it unnerved you massively, more than anything that had happened tonight. 

"You at least gonna tell me why you destroyed Desmond's laptop?" You grumbled, surprised that got a reaction out of him as he now looked ashamed.

"You would not have been happy either if the situation were reversed. How they spoke to you, the touching... I thought you would have done more to stop it."

Spluttering when that sounded a lot like he was accusing you of enjoying being pawed up by Hickey, there was no chance you were going to stand for that, your temper riling to new heights as you stormed up to him and poked him in the chest a little more forcefully than you actually intended.

"I can't believe you sometimes! You know what? Maybe I did like being grabbed?!"

Instantly regretting it the second the words tumbled out of your mouth as he went rigid and a pained expression twisted across his face; cursing under your breath for saying something out of malice, you sighed and slumped your shoulders in a wash of guilt at breaking your word of not bringing it up again. It was the same old conversation about this particular subject, asking him to 'let go' as he did in your first time together in the cave, but the outcome never changed, with him point blank refusing until you eventually gave up asking.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Let's get some sleep okay? It's been a long evening, and we're both tired and grumpy."

Turning away quickly, so he didn't see the tears prickling at the corner of your eyes, you went to kick off your shoes before you were abruptly stopped by a hand catching your shoulder and spinning you around, the same hand curling around the back of your neck and holding you there firmly.

"I said I'm sorry," You whispered when he gazed down on you, eyes filled with turmoil and darting about as if he were debating something. "Can we..."

He silenced you by pressing his thumb hard over your lips, but instead of saying something he ran the digit over your mouth, removing the crimson lipstick from your pout and smearing it across your cheek. The second most of it was gone his mouth crashed down on yours, almost violently kissing you until you could barely breathe and you began trembling, your head swimming with confusion as he pulled away just as abruptly.

Your eyes widened when he suddenly grabbed your arms and held them together with one hand, deftly unbuckling his belt with the other, making your pulse jump through the roof as his intentions were now very clear. _He isn't... He said he would never... Oh my god, he is..._ Your brain was screaming in half excitement, half panic as he bound your wrists together with the belt to the point of almost cutting off circulation, the tiny smirk that he tried to hide as you tested your bonds producing butterflies in your stomach.

Something between a gasp and a squeak stuck in your throat when he pushed you so you were forced to drop to your knees in front of him, unable to look away as he slowly undid his jeans and shoved them down enough so he could draw him semi-hard length out, holding his shirt out the way.

"Suck." He growled, the savagery in his voice making a tremor run down your spine.

As you couldn't use your hands; which would have been no use anyway as you were now shaking like a leaf in a stiff breeze, you ducked down with your lips parted and used your tongue to guide him into your mouth, suckling on the first inch where you knew he was most sensitive. Your clit immediately began to tingle as he grew and throbbed against the roof of your mouth, but as soon as you went to reach down to do something about it, he nudged your hands away with his knee and grasped either side of your head with a deep groan, plunging himself further in so he was touching the back of your tongue.

"Do not do that again."

The fierce conviction of his words had you quickly nodding as much as you could considering the position you were in, then blinking rapidly to shift the tears that were streaming down your face, that were no doubt black from your mascara as he aggressively took charge and shallowly fucked your throat. 

"That is enough." 

You coughed and gasped for air when he did one more thrust; which was deeper than before and took a step back, licking your lips to break the string of saliva that was stretched from his swollen tip to the corner of your mouth. Stumbling slightly as he helped you up from the floor and began walking you back towards the wall, a scratchy moan tore from you as he raised your arms and looped the belt over the coat hooks above you, your voice seemingly not wanting to work after the punishment it had taken a few moments ago. Even though you were still wearing your heels, you were only just able to touch the floor by balancing on the very tips of your toes, every inch of your skin pulled tautly that was screaming for either touch or to be let loose and soothed from the aching.

Connor looked like he was prowling you as he drank in the sight of you strung up before him, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and throwing it to the floor; so now he was almost naked in front of you and there was _nothing_ you could do about it, smirking at your twisting to try and free yourself. Your eyes widened when he suddenly closed the space between you and flicked out his hidden blade in less time that it took you to blink, the goosebumps that erupted as he trailed the cold steel down your arm and settled it at the base of your neck almost painful, which was made even worse as he sliced through the flimsy fabric of your dress and the top half swiftly fell, fully revealing your breasts as a bra wasn't exactly an option with this attire. You weren't prepared for his onslaught on you next, pinning your legs with his thighs and lustfully licking and nipping every part of your body that was exposed as if he hadn't seen you in months, leaving a trail of hypersensitive, pink flushed skin in his wake.

Your whimpers and coos of pleasure were either muted by him kissing you feverishly or drowned out by the growing rumbles in his chest as you quivered against him; pretty much on the verge of cumming already judging by the slickness gathering at the tops of your thighs, as his fingers curled under the hem of what was left of your clothing and, started hiking it up to around your waist. He paused in his ministrations for a moment to admire the black g string you had chosen to wear this evening, but that's all it was, a moment before the ties were broken and it was discarded to the floor.

Had you been clear-headed you would have made some quip about how he should start replacing your underwear, but any shred of clarity you had left soon went out the window when he crouched down and bit at the tops of your thighs, sucking hard enough to adorn you with several marks as he inched towards the softer skin further in. You wanted to scream in frustration when he never went anywhere near where you needed him the most, your muscles aching from being tensed so long as he slowly stood up and slipped his shaft between your legs, so he was just barely brushing against your crease and continuing his torturous teasing.

You were that aroused and wet, that when he grabbed your hips and used the wall as leverage to tilt you into the right position, he slid into you with next to no resistance, and the second your body welcomed the stretch your walls clamped down, and your limbs spasmed when a climax instantly surged through you, almost sobbing as the pent up strain bursting finally allowed you to relax slightly. You couldn't care less that it sounded like a pack of wild animals were running riot in the hotel as he didn't give you any time to recover and began plunging into you with abandon, sinful growls and wails of bliss echoing as each of his powerful thrusts prolonged your orgasm to the point where you thought you might pass out.

Managing to twist your hands so you could hold onto the hooks above you to keep yourself somewhat steady as he carried on with his relentless pace, you had no choice but to wrap your legs around his waist; which was no easy feat as they already felt like jelly, as the extra pressure on the fixings were making them creak and loosen judging by the plaster dust that was dropping on your head. Because the stimulation of your walls and the crushing of your clit never ceased, you were thrown into another release mere seconds after the last one finished, forgetting the ability to breathe as your blood felt like fire in your veins and you convulsed with the sheer intensity of it.

Connor caught you just in time as with one more fierce tug the hooks had finally given out and clattered to the floor, releasing your arms that felt like you'd never be able to use them again, but somehow you managed to drape them around his neck while you slumped against his chest, almost completely zapped of energy. You whimpered when he walked around the room with you still impaled on him, aftershocks surging through you that made you jolt every time he took a step, just able to look up through half-lidded eyes to see him grimace when he stared at the bed, grabbing a blanket off the top of his holdall and throwing it over it before kicking off his jeans that had fell to his ankles and carefully laying you on your back.

"C-Connor... I... can't..." You babbled when he started rocking against you, the pleasure-pain delirium sinking its claws in deeper.

"Yes, you can. One more, for me."

You lolled your head from side to side and mewled when you could feel your core beginning to restrict once again, writhing and desperately grasping at his back to try and escape the overwhelming sensations when he squeezed his hand between you and caught your throbbing nub in his first two fingers, rolling it in time with his thrusts. But he had you pinned down well, his free arm around your back holding you close made any attempt to move futile. His mouth captured yours as you began to babble nonsense into his ear, slowly, more passionate instead of the hunger from before, careful to let you take in shallow gasps of air whenever you needed them. 

"I love you Enhnì:ta. My moon. My world."

His voice is strained as his hips suddenly move harder and faster against you, groaning louder by the second as you once more tighten and clench around him, the tired cry against his cheek and your nails digging into his back triggering him to spill inside you and almost crush the breath out of your lungs. A weak, cracked moan is all you can muster as he rolled you onto your sides and set to undoing his belt around your wrists, gently kissing the sore points when it had cut into your skin due to your squirming before helping you wipe your face with the back of his hand.

"Is that what you wanted?" He whispered against your fingers, his heavy gaze set on your swollen lips and numerous hickeys peppering your neck.

"Uh huh," you panted, clearing your throat to gain some sense of control over your voice. "You're always so... restrained, which is good don't get me wrong, but I fell for all of you, and when you let the other side out, I dunno, it makes me feel special I suppose. It's difficult to explain."

"I, think I understand."

You let out a happy, gentle sigh as he pulled you to his chest and kissed the top of your head, massaging soothing circles down your arm when it involuntarily began twitching from being above your head so long.

"Shall I put the shower on? Although I doubt it is cleaner than the rest of the room."

Letting out a pained chuckle as he propped himself up on his elbow and eyed up the door to the bathroom and frowned at the idea of discovering what was behind it, you made an attempt to get up but quickly decided that it was a bad idea, as you now felt worse than you did after your fight with Jack.

"Think I'll pass, doubt I can walk at this moment in time."

Giggling when he looked slightly worried but thoroughly confused at your remark and went to examine your legs for any signs of severe injury, you pulled him back and kissed up his neck and over his jaw, making him look at you so he could see you were joking.

"It's a good thing, don't worry. Ask Jacob or Edward next time you see them. Actually... Maybe not," you mused as you could now imagine the teasing _you_ would get for it. "Can you grab either of our phones? I'm sure they went off while you were busy tying me up."

Biting your bottom lip with a cheeky grin as he rolled to the edge of the bed with a smirk and pulled over his discarded jeans; digging in the pocket for his cell, you lifted your head when he turned off the lamp and slid his arm underneath you and pulled you tightly against him, wrapping the blanket over you both while reading the message out loud.

"Everything is sorted; we leave at five am for the airport. Called in the cavalry, they will meet us there. P.s The walls are reaaaaaaaaally thin guys."

Bursting out laughing briefly at Connors 'Mary' impression; and in minor embarassment that your coworkers had heard you, your amusement was soon curbed at the thought of getting up early, and you were currently feeling exhausted enough to sleep for a week, even though you knew your mind would never allow such a luxury, already wondering what fun tomorrow will bring.


	13. Chapter 13

Surprisingly, you were wide awake and in a good mood considering the sun wasn't even up yet; and you had just taken the grossest, three-minute shower known to man, so much that not even Mary and Desmonds snide comments of 'You're walking funny' were enough to wipe the smile off your face.

Sitting squashed up next to Connor in the back after all of the gear had been loaded up and you were ready to go, you chuckled and swatted his hand away when he tried to pull at your high necked sweater to see the developed marks on your throat; quite surprisingly with a smirk that would have rivalled Jacobs, kissing him briefly before snuggling to get comfortable for the ride.

"Oh, get a room you two, the takeaway coffee already made me feel sick."

"We did have one, but you decided to drag us out of it," You laughed, winking at Mary when she adjusted the rearview mirror so she could see you better.

"Aye, reckon I did you a favour though, we'll all need to be scrubbed down after staying in that shite hole. You sorted getting the van picked up from the airport?"

Pulling your phone out your pocket and deftly bringing up your emails for confirmation that you had changed the terms of the rental, you waved it around; not that she could read it mind and, resumed your warmer position against Connors' chest as today it decided to lash it down and was noticeably chilly.

"Least we'll feel right at home traipsing through the jungle, but it's not going to feel right without ati:ron trying to steal all the blanket though."

"Do not blame him for your thievery," He chuckled. "I feel less concerned today, about the assignment. We have the upper hand as our contacts are already in place, and with you by my side, we shall make for a formidable team."

"Hey! What are we, chopped liver?!"

Scoffing in amusement when Desmond turned in his seat and pouted out his bottom lip as far as it would go, you pulled over Marys 'briefcase' as she called it (which was actually a tatty, old handstitched bag that she had picked up on her numerous travels) by your foot, so you didn't have to move, and tugged out the dossier that was nestled on top, humming as you read it using your phone as a light source.

"Hmm. I know who Henry Greene is, that's Evie's husband. But who's... Rebecca Crane? Don't think I've met her before?"

"Oh, you'll get on like a house on fire fish! Adrenaline junkie, and also the cleverest person I know when it comes to gadgets and computers. Pretty good at kicking ass too."

Thankful that someone like that was on your side, you carried on scanning through what was in the file so you could familiarise yourself with Chichen Itza; fascinated by the temple that the enemy was after until you realised that you had subconsciously lowered your phone, and you could still see the print. Now even though this was Las Vegas, the road you were on wasn't exactly busy at this time of the morning, only the intermittent street lights letting you see anything in the back of the van. But now you were paying attention, the light filtering through the back windows was getting noticeably brighter, and it made a heavy, gnawing feeling grow in the pit of your stomach, sitting bolt upright quickly.

"Hey, Mare?"

"I see em," She growled, speeding up slightly. "Been on us for about a mile, I can't shake them here."

As soon as she finished speaking, you grabbed onto Connor for dear life when the van suddenly lurched forwards and the sound of crumpling metal echoed around you, the door mere inches from where you were sat caving in as whoever was following you rammed into the back swiftly again. You were being thrown around like an old ragdoll as you and Connor tried to get to your weapons cache so you could defend yourselves, colliding into the walls and falling equipment bashing into you that was hurting more than it should due to your already weary, and bruised body. Gritting your teeth through the pain and managing to dive on the case that contained your armaments through the relentless barraging that was going on, you fumbled aimlessly with the catches, trying to get it open.

"Shit! Hold on!"

You barely heard Desmond yell out when the van suddenly began to spin, the last sideswipe making Mary eventually lose control on the asphalt; which was probably like glass thanks to the rain, and veer towards a partition that you just caught sight of through the window screen. You had no idea what happened after that, everything going black and your ears ringing as you coughed when chemical vapours filled your lungs, trying to open your eyes which felt like lead weights were attached to your lids. Everything was blurry when you finally managed it, using the back of your hand to wipe your face when you could feel something wet trickling down your brow, gingerly sniffing it when you could make out that it wasn't dark like blood.

_Gas?!_

Blinking rapidly so you could focus again, only then did it register that the van was on its roof, and even though you were disorientated you could tell it was completely trashed, and you were enveloped in something soft and warm. Patting the front of yourself down quickly to check that nothing was broken or where it shouldn't be; not finding anything, other than feeling like a steam roller had run over you, you shuffled onto your front with a loud whimper so you could see what was behind you, your blood running cold and you were sure your heart stopped when you saw it was Connor, unconscious and with a nasty gash down his arm, who had apparently thrown himself around you, so you were protected when you crashed. Screaming _keep fucking calm_ in your head as you pressed your trembling fingers to his neck to check for a pulse, you almost broke down when you felt it thud strongly against your tips, shaking him vigorously to try and get him to come to.

"Connor, please! Wake up!" You almost sobbed, snapping your head to the side when Mary and Desmond suddenly wheezed and spluttered in tandem.

Not having time to feel guilty about forgetting your colleagues until now, you scrambled over on your hands and knees to help them down from their upside down position, hacking through their jammed seatbelts with your hidden blade.

"You both okay?! You whole??"

Helping them through to the back when each gave you a half-assed nod through their coughing; as getting out of the front was not an option judging by the state of it, you tried once again to rouse Connor, until you heard what sounded like popcorn going off through the rain and metalwork creaking.

"What the hell was that?!"

"They're firing on us!"

Ducking down when holes started to appear in the sides of the van, you knew you had to get out of here quick; one well-placed hit would create a spark and ignite the gas that was currently leaking out from the tank above your heads, and you would all be done for. Laying on your back next to Desmond after Mary tried to open the side door with little avail, you both drew your knees to your chest and kicked out with all the force you could muster where the handle was, but it barely moved at all, the damage having wedged it firmly.

"Again!"

Four more times you tried until your legs couldn't take anymore; stopping to try the back which was no use as you could only see concrete through the smashed windows, almost throwing yourself on top of Connor when he came to with a pained groan, panic instantly washing over his face as he sat up with you in his arms. He gained clarity faster than the rest of you considering he was out the longest, taking a second, maybe two to realise what was going on, diving on the door that you had been trying to open and grabbing the handle with both hands. The wound on his bicep was now pouring as he pulled and strained with the door, the contorted panel whining in protest before finally succumbing enough so you could all get out. 

Even though the van was a bomb waiting to happen, you had no choice but to use it for cover as you took stock of where you were, just barely under the tunnel that led to the airport so retreating was not an option; you'd be sitting ducks in the open road. Poking your head around the front to get a tally of the attackers and see what options you had, you barely made out three Suv's two hundred yards away before ducking back when they let out another spread of bullets, their headlights on high beam and all pointing towards the van not allowing you to make any people out.

"I can't see anything! Three cars but they've got lights trained on us!" You shouted, rubbing your eyes to get rid of the purple and green spots dancing behind your lids.

"We can't just sit here. Oh, they're gonna regret messing with me before I've had a decent coffee! Desmond, ya reckon you can make it over there? We'll cover you."

You glanced over to the partition where Mary was pointing to a few metres down the tunnel, before taking a handgun off of Connor when he managed to drag the case out of the van and sliding in the clip, smirking at Mary's evil cackling when she armed her own. Crouching down in front of Connor when everyone took their positions at the head of the van, you took a deep breath to try and block out that it was real people you were going to be shooting at this time, but that was easier said than done when Mary shouted 'Go!' and all three of you poked from around your cover, firing aimlessly to distract them long enough for Desmond to get a slight flanking position. Doubting any of you landed a hit thanks to being half blinded by the lights, you dropped the magazine and got ready for another round, eyeing up the bag as it only contained four more clips; nowhere near enough for the assault in front of you.

"We're screwed, aren't we?" You whispered, confused when Mary didn't seem worried in the slightest, and she tapped her ear.

"Ah, don't ya worry fish, just gotta hold em off for a few more minutes."

Fully believing she had some trick up her sleeve, you took your position once again and squeezed out several more rounds in the general direction in which the gunfire was coming from, hoping whatever she had planned, it was going to happen fast as the integrity of your cover was dwindling rapidly. The only thing that was keeping you anchored throughout all of this was Connors leg pressing up against your back, knowing he was right next to you giving you confidence and not to sit there jibbering in a corner. You didn't really believe Desmond when he said that something _always_ went wrong on missions, but it was now looking like this whole thing was jinxed from the start, each time something didn't go to plan, it was getting worse. Looking up when Mary and Connor collapsed to the floor next to you, you quickly realised that a hissing sound was air escaping from the tyres that had now been shot out, checking your clip to see how many rounds you had left.

"Where's this miracle?! I've got... five bullets left. What about you?"

Your already rapid pulse picked up a few notches when Connor showed that he was out, and Mary only had two remaining, the confidence that you wished you had draining from their faces with each passing second until Mary pressed her finger against her ear, and a sly smirk crept up her cheeks.

"Help's here. Look up."

Following her instructions, you gazed up to the walkway overhead but there wasn't anything there; not even a shadow that you could see, and you were beginning to think she had finally crossed the line and lost all her marbles, until you heard a very familiar voice shouting for you to get out of the way. Retreating a few paces into the tunnel, you narrowly missed two bundles that dropped from above, not even having a chance to see what they were when a different type of gunfire whizzed through the air, and several of the headlamps that had been plaguing you, shattering. Laughing in mild relief when Mary grabbed the bundles and cut through the straps with her hidden blade, you felt a lot better now the odds were even, especially now she revealed several rifles with plenty of ammunition and, Connors bow.

Swelling with pride as Connor immediately snatched it up and handed it to you; along with a quiver full of arrows, your eyes told him everything you wanted to say at that moment when you briefly caught his gaze and gave him a simple nod, stringing the bow and untucking your attached finger guard from your bracer in record time. Not that you had anything to prove, but this was the chance you had been waiting for. Albeit sooner than you had thought, to show that you were definitely ready to be out here and defend the brotherhood from whatever threats might come their way, concentrating on that and **not** the numerous bullets that were trying to make a beeline for your head as you scuffled to the back end of the van, using the frame what used to contain a window as a step so you could see your targets.

Using your knees to balance yourself and slowly peer over the undercarriage so you could see what was going on; counting twenty or so bad guys dressed in black, you smirked to yourself as whoever was on the walkway had taken out five of the six headlights trained on you, and now the tables were turned. Waiting for Mary's signal, you nocked an arrow and got ready to draw, watching her fingers intently as she counted down from three. The second her fist closed you popped up, drew, and let loose in one swift motion, the first thug you set sights on dropping to the floor in a crumpled heap. With Desmond taking care of the ones to the left, Mary and Connor on the centre, you concentrated on the right, arrows rapidly flying through the air with deadly accuracy, all kill shots by impaling them through the neck or chest. 

When less than a handful were remaining they started to retreat, the cars that you couldn't see before in the back wheel spinning off in a blaze of smoke, so you took a second to glance down at Connor, smiling warmly at his focused expression. Having never seen him out in the field before, you now saw the allure to watching your partner in a death-defying situation, and to be honest, it did give you quite a bit of a thrill. Now that the threat was almost gone, you were just about to jump down when you were abruptly yanked by your hood and to the floor, landing with a cough and looking up to see a hole in the concrete directly behind the very space where your head was. You were about to thank the person who forcefully helped you up by grabbing your arm, until you saw who it was, glaring with all the resentment you could muster at this moment in time.

"Jack. What the hell are you doing here?!" You spat.

"Usually people are appreciative when someone saves their life. Couldn't have you dying without getting a rematch."

Your blood was boiling, and you grit your teeth as he just stood there and sneered at you in his usual arrogant way, yelping when he eventually let go of your arm, and it felt like you had been stabbed by a hot skewer or needle. Pulling up your sleeve and examining the small puncture wound that was now in your forearm, you went to flick out your hidden blade when Desmond jumped in between you, followed by Jacob and the sniper from camp, stopping you from adding to the pile of bodies across the way.

"Calm down the pair of you! Save your energy for those assholes, they'll probably come back with reinforcements and we need to get out of here before that happens."

Sniffing dismissively and shoulder barging Jack out of the way, you walked over to where Mary was crouched down and rummaging through a bag that Jacob had brought with him, pulling out a bandage and alcohol wipes. You lay your hand on Connors' shoulder when you could see his jaw muscles clenching tight and the big vein throbbing in his temple, taking the first aid items off of Mary and kneeling in front of him.

"They should not have stopped you," he whispered as you cut through his shirt to gain access to the wound.

"Yeah, well. He did save me from getting my brains splattered all over the wall."

Connors tense posture didn't falter as you cleaned and dressed the cut; which wasn't as bad as it initially looked, finishing it off by kissing it gently and getting up to standing just as Mary and Desmond joined you, properly looking themselves over now they had the chance to.

"One good deed does not redeem him from his wrongdoings. He does not belong here. He has a darkness in him that I have never seen before, nor does he care for the tenants of our creed."

Raising your eyebrows as Desmond and Mary nodded in agreement, you all clammed up when Jacob strutted over with his entourage after salvaging what they could from the van; which wasn't a lot, ushering you all up towards the bank to the right of the road, where you assumed they had parked and hidden their own transport out of here.

"Hey!" You called to the girl who was walking several paces in front of you, falling into stride next to her when she paused to let you catch up. "You are a good shot, saved our butts that's for sure. I just wanted to say thanks, um, what was your name again?"

"Just call me Mamba, that's the alias I was given," She laughed. "As in Black Mamba? One strike and you're done for?" 

"Okay, that's it! So we've got Bear, Fox, Hawk, and now Mamba, and I suppose you've got something cool like panther or lion?"

Jacob burst out laughing when you pouted and jabbed your finger in his direction, opening the doors to the minivan so you could all climb in, with Connor in the front as it had more leg room, women and Desmond squashed in the back, and Jack relegated to the boot with all of the bags, which he _definitely_ didn't look happy about.

"I am the great Jacob Frye, no stupid codename for me!"

You knew that at least four of you rolled your eyes in unison as Jacob pulled off rather abruptly and headed towards the airport, turning your head and leaning in when Mamba slyly nudged you in the arm.

"Fish isn't so bad, Jacob gave a certain someone Donkey. It was a joke, I think, but it's stuck."

Turning around and biting your lips when you saw that Jack looked like he was chewing on a wasp, you winced when your pent up laughing made your aching body, plus your eyelashes hurt, shuffling in your seat to try and get some much-needed rest, even if it was only for half an hour before you were thrown into whatever chaos was coming next.


End file.
